IS forces rise in Libya, drop in Iraq and Syria: US official
A US official said Thursday that IS fighters have streamed into Libya in recent months.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Islamic State fighters have streamed into Libya in recent months, a US official said Thursday, heightening fears that the extremists are gaining ground and influence in the north African country.
About 5,000 IS jihadists are now in Libya, the defense official said, approximately double earlier estimates, while the number of IS extremists in Iraq and Syria has dropped.
The updated tallies comes as the adminstration of President Barack Obama faces growing calls for the US military to step up action against the IS group in Libya, where the jihadists have already seized the city of Sirte and an adjoining length of Mediterranean coastline.
NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels next week to evaluate the ongoing US-led coalition campaign against the IS group and to discuss ways of redoubling efforts.
The United States now believes there to be between 19,000 and 25,000 IS fighters in Iraq and Syria -- the group s so-called "caliphate" -- down from a previous count of 20,000-33,000.
But there are growing fears about the fate of Libya, which has been in chaos since the NATO-backed ouster of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
IS fighters have capitalized on the disarray and spread the group s influence into the north African nation, establishing a stronghold in Sirte, Kadhafi s hometown.
Life in the city, which IS fighters seized in June, now resembles that of other towns flying the jihadists signature black flag. Witnesses have described public executions and say women are no longer allowed outside without a male guardian.
Reluctant to see its 18-month air campaign against the IS group in Iraq and Syria spread to a third country, the United States has repeatedly stressed the importance of finding cooperative local partners to help fight the IS group in Libya.
Washington has also pushed international allies -- especially former colonial power Italy -- to take the lead in any coalition operations there.
And administration officials say any actions in Libya must be carried out in the context of a functioning government.
The decrease of IS fighters in Iraq and Syria is due to successes in the ongoing US-led air campaign and the relative ease of traveling to Libya from north African countries, the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
It s a "combination of battlefield deaths, desertions, internal disciplinary actions, recruiting shortfalls and difficulties that foreign fighters face traveling into Syria," the official said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed the latest tally for Iraq and Syria, based on a new intelligence assessment.
Islamic State fighters "continue to be a substantial threat, but the potential numbers have declined," he said.
"That s a testament to the efforts of our partners on the ground who are taking the fight to ISIL on the ground," he added, using an alternative acronym for the IS group.
While Obama is not considering opening "a new front" against the IS group in Libya, Earnest said the United States is ready to intervene if necessary.
"We re going to continue to watch how the threat in Libya evolves and we re going to continue to be prepared to take action," he said.
The United States has already taken some limited steps in Libya. In November, it launched an air strike killing top IS leader Abu Nabil, an Iraqi also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi.
And in December the Pentagon acknowledged that a group of US special operations troops who traveled to Libya to "foster relationships" was kicked out of the conflict-torn country soon after arriving.
