[PM] An MQ-9 Predator soars high above the camp, the camera in its sensor ball fixed on the Islamic State fighters below. The foot soldiers are unloading rocket-propelled grenades and artillery shells from the backs of pickup trucks, likely unaware of the American unmanned aircraft overhead. Still, their fear of prying aerial eyes is noticeable as they stretch tarps across vehicles to obscure their shapes from above.
This ISIS encampment is one of several in the desert southwest of the Libyan city of Sirte. Late last year, U.S. warplanes helped local forces drive ISIS from the city. Some of those fighters have regrouped in these camps, others have gathered here from elsewhere. There are more than 100 Islamic State fighters spread across these sites.
It's mid-January and the presidency is days away from a change in administration. The U.S. ended combat in Sirte a month earlier. Now, ISIS fighters are regrouping in a familiar place when they feel safe from U.S. intervention.
They are mistaken. |