US anti-ISIS envoy says militants choosing Libya as their new hub
Following a visit to the Kurdish city of Kobani over the weekend US special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk says that Islamist militants are now flocking into Libya as it has become more difficult for them to reach Syria.
“They are now trying to make Libya their hub,” McGurk has told the Washington Post. “I think that’s part and parcel of the success we’ve had in Syria. If you’re a foreign fighter joining ISIL in Syria, you’re going to die in Syria. I think they are learning that,”
McGurk who visited Kobani with French and British officials saw the destruction in the city that was under siege from ISIS militants for more than three months in 2014 and was finally liberated by the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) with US air support.
“It was important to see this with our own eyes and talk to people on the ground,” said McGurk. “It’s obviously something all of us will both remember and also reflect upon as we realize how long we have to go to defeat and destroy this barbaric terrorist organization.”
During his visit McGurk wrote on Twitter that he "Paid respects to over 1,000 Kurdish martyrs from #Kobani battle. #ISIL's siege was broken 1-year ago last week."
McGurk met with Kurdish and other fighters who make up the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS shortly before he headed to Rome where coalition counties gather on Tuesday to discuss the war on ISIS and its expansion into Libya.
“They are now trying to make Libya their hub,” McGurk has told the Washington Post. “I think that’s part and parcel of the success we’ve had in Syria. If you’re a foreign fighter joining ISIL in Syria, you’re going to die in Syria. I think they are learning that,”
McGurk who visited Kobani with French and British officials saw the destruction in the city that was under siege from ISIS militants for more than three months in 2014 and was finally liberated by the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) with US air support.
“It was important to see this with our own eyes and talk to people on the ground,” said McGurk. “It’s obviously something all of us will both remember and also reflect upon as we realize how long we have to go to defeat and destroy this barbaric terrorist organization.”
During his visit McGurk wrote on Twitter that he "Paid respects to over 1,000 Kurdish martyrs from #Kobani battle. #ISIL's siege was broken 1-year ago last week."
McGurk met with Kurdish and other fighters who make up the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS shortly before he headed to Rome where coalition counties gather on Tuesday to discuss the war on ISIS and its expansion into Libya.