An ISIS terrorist. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The United States has launched airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold in Sirte, Libya, the Pentagon said on Monday, the first direct US involvement in the fierce battle unfolding there and a significant expansion of the American campaign against the group.

In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that Libya’s Western-backed unity government had requested the air support as forces under its command battle to reclaim the coastal city of Sirte, which became an important Islamic State stronghold after militants seized it last year.

Read full story at The Washington Post.