Libya has been in turmoil since the toppling of the Gadhafi regime, and the killing of a U.S. ambassador in Benghazi has raised additional questions about U.S. policy in the Middle East during the administration of President Barack Obama.
“The numbers are somewhere around a couple hundred is the estimate,” U.S. Gen. David Rodriguez said. “It’s mainly about people coming for training and logistics support right now. It’s for training sites, and that’s what we see right now.”
In a briefing on Dec. 3, Rodriguez was said to have reflected the assessment of the military’s African Command, headed by the general. He said ISIL has been joined by existing militias in eastern Libya but they were not participating in operations or organizing a command and control infrastructure.
“I think it’s just militias trying to make a name and trying to make a connection right now,” Rodriguez said. “I think what they’re trying to do is, again, just work the label and get some kind of support and everything, but we don’t have any precision on, you know, where the people are coming from that are being trained.”
The general, however, did not rule out that ISIL has been moving west toward the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Rodriguez said the U.S. intelligence community “has mixed reports on that right now.”
Officials said the military has not been directed to strike ISIL bases in Libya. They said the administration of President Barack Obama was discussing options with the military and intelligence community.
“We’re watching it very carefully to see how it develops and everything,” Rodriguez said. “Right now, it’s just small and very nascent. And we’ll just have to see how it goes.”
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