CIA expands military base in Sahel to monitor terror groups – NYT

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is secretly expanding its presence in the Sahara Desert to monitor Islamist groups operating in the region while using Libya as base, the New York Times reported.

The US media noted in its story published Saturday that Washington had established partnerships, described as fruitful, with local partners in Libya.

The US had intervened several times with air strikes in Libya to pound positions of several terror groups, including al Qaeda and the Islamic state group (Isis).

According to the New York Times, the American airpower backed “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous” to uproot ISIS in Sirte.

Washington, the media noted, has the legal authority to conduct special operations in four countries, including Libya, and has carried out airstrikes in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

The Sahel region has recently witnessed an increase in attacks from terror groups, mainly in Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali.