Earlier this month, Jordan carried out a flurry of airstrikes in Syria after the Islamic State burned to death a captured Jordanian pilot. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also participated in strikes on the Islamic State, which declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq last summer.
The raids by the region’s militaries illustrate “the seriousness with which other nations, Arab nations, are taking this threat,” said a U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military action by an ally. He said the Egyptian government had not provided Washington with advance warning of the strikes.
The United States and five other countries issued a joint statement Tuesday calling for a national unity government to be formed in Libya through talks that are being sponsored by the United Nations.
Those who seek to impede the democratic transition “will not be allowed to condemn Libya to chaos and extremism,” said the statement, signed by the governments of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Britain and the United States. “They will be held . . . accountable by the Libyan people and the international community for their actions.”
Militias that emerged from the 2011 Arab Spring uprising have hampered efforts to build a viable state in Libya since the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gaddafi. A political and armed conflict has fractured the country and produced two rival governments.
Amid the turmoil, at least three jihadist groups pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in the fall. They have since expanded their control and even operate in the capital, Tripoli.
By. Sofia Carrillo 3°B
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