US launches air strikes targeting 'IS' in Libya

The United States has launched multiple air strikes against Islamic State militants in Libya, opening a new, more persistent front against the group at the request of the United Nations-backed government.

Fayez Serraj, the head of the UN-brokered presidency council, said in a televised statement that American warplanes attacked the IS bastion of Sirte on the Mediterranean in northern Libya. No US ground forces will be deployed, he said.