US seeks drones base in North Africa to combat IS in Libya

The United States is in talks with countries in North Africa to set up a base for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on their territory to improve surveillance and intelligence gathering on the Islamic State terror group, which has gained a significant foothold in chaos-ridden Libya.

Washington and its allies against the Islamic State would like to see the terror group contained to Iraq and Syria where it already controls large swaths of territory, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“Right now, what we are trying to do is address some real intelligence challenges,” a senior US official told the paper. Washington wants to “fill gaps in our understanding of what’s going on” in Libya, the official added.

A drones base would be a boon for the US and its allies, who currently lack real-time intelligence capabilities on Islamic State movements in Libya, and who are engaged in a aerial campaign against IS targets in Iraq mainly.

Asked about the talks, White House National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told the paper: “We are cooperating closely with nations in North Africa, the Sahel (a sub-Saharan region), and Europe, which share our concerns about threats emanating from Libya. This includes gaining greater intelligence about the groups operating there.”

So far, according to the report, none of the North African countries have agreed to a drones base, fearing the terror group — which has already claimed a number of attacks in North Africa, including the Tunisian beach massacre last month — would target them more directly.

Both Tunisia and Egypt, close US allies, share a border with Libya where the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups have thrived in recent years, using some strongholds as safe havens to operate and train.

“The presence of ISIL and other extremist groups in Libya, particularly in eastern Libya, is of significant concern to the US,” said retired Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of US Africa Command until 2013, according to the report. “Not only has ISIL already conducted deadly attacks in Libya and Tunisia, eastern Libya remains a significant transit point for foreign fighters seeking to join ISIL in Syria and Iraq.”

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that Britain’s defense forces should spend more of their budget on spy planes, drones and covert forces to fight extremist militants, .

The government last week announced it would meet the minimum defense spending target set by NATO of two percent of gross domestic product for the full five years of Cameron’s Conservative administration, elected in May.

“I have tasked the defense and security chiefs to look specifically at how we do more to counter the threat posed by ISIL and Islamist extremism,” Cameron said in a statement, referring to Islamic State (IS) militants.

“This could include more spy planes, drones and special forces. In the last five years, I have seen just how vital these assets are in keeping us safe.”

 

Britain is currently part of the coalition fighting IS in Iraq, and has a surveillance role in Syria.

Government ministers have begun making the case for joining bombing campaigns against IS in its Syrian strongholds as well.