MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier this month, reports emerged that Italian and British special troops were ambushed by Daesh militants in Libya. The media reports came soon after UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that London had no plans to deploy ground combat forces to Libya, but could provide the country with training or technical support.
"My unit works just with English. I have met with them personally and they have destroyed two suicide vehicles that were targeting my fighters," commander of troops in Misrata Mohammed Durat told The Times on Thursday.
According to the newspaper, the attack helped stop Daesh advance on the city of Misrata and is the first evidence that UK soldiers are fighting against Daesh militants in Libya.
Libya has been in a political and security vacuum since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising and the ouster of the North African nation’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. Last December, a unity government was eventually mediated by the UN between the two rival governments, in Tripoli and Tobruk.
The instability in the country has created a political and security vacuum that was largely filled by Islamist militants.