US President Obama calls for action against ISIS in Libya

US President Barack Obama directed his national security advisers on Thursday to counter efforts by Islamic State to expand into Libya and other countries, the White House said.

ISIS militants have taken advantage of chaos in Libya to establish themselves in the city of Sirte, and they have carried out several attacks on oil installations this month. “The President directed his national security team to continue efforts to strengthen governance and support ongoing counterterrorism efforts in Libya and other countries where ISIS has sought to establish a presence,” the White House statement said.

Earlier on Thursday, defence secretary Ash Carter said that ISIS was establishing training sites in Libya and welcoming foreign fighters the way it had done in Iraq and Syria in years past. “And we don’t want to be on a glide slope to a situation like Syria and Iraq. That’s the reason why we’re watching it that closely. That’s the reason why we develop options for what we might do in the future.”

On Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the United States had already sent “a small number of military personnel” into Libya to try to “engage in conversations with local forces to get a clearer picture of exactly what’s happening there.”

“We’re looking at military options,” Mr Cook said, according to a transcript of his press conference on the department of defence website.

The US will continue to counter terror plotters of Islamic State militant group in any country where necessary, Mr Obama has said while directing his national security team to intensify its ongoing counter-terrorism campaign to destroy the terror outfit.

In a meeting with his National Security Council, Mr Obama discussed intensification of US campaign to degrade and destroy ISIS. “The President emphasised that the US will continue to counter ISIS terrorist plotters in any country where it is necessary,” the White House said.