Can US air strikes push ISIL out of Libya?

The air strikes against ISIL fighters in Sirte were in response to a request by Libya's UN-backed unity government.


For the past few months, Libyan forces have been engaged in battle to push fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) out of Sirte.

But progress has been slow.

Now, the United States military has entered the fight.

At the request of Libya's UN-backed unity goverment, US forces have begun air strikes against ISIL targets in the coastal city.

And on Tuesday, government forces said they had taken control of Sirte's central district.

ISIL took control of Libya's port city in May last year.

At one point, its self-declared caliphate stretched approximately 200km on either side of Sirte along the Mediterranean coastline.