U.S. considering military action in Libya if ISIS becomes 'more of a threat'

Catherine Garcia, The Week US's avatar
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last updated
Fighting in Libya.
(Image credit: Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook announced Wednesday that the United States is "looking at military options" in the event that the Islamic State "becomes more of a threat than it is even today" in Libya.

ISIS controls part of the coastline around the city of Sirte, and there are concerns that the group could gain more ground in the country. Officials said options would include concerted airstrikes and limited operations by special forces, the Financial Times reports. ISIS has recently launched attacks against oil facilities in Libya, and officials said there's been an influx of ISIS fighters entering the country.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.