The US military has conducted two air strikes against Islamic States militants in Libya.

In a statement, US Africa Command said one strike was carried out on Friday and another one on Sunday. It said both strikes were carried out near the city of Fuqaha in the Libyan desert, but did not say how many militants had been killed.

The statement said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Libya’s Government of National Accord.

Islamic State took over Sirte in early 2015, turning it into its most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters to the city. The group imposed its hard-line rule on residents and extended its control along about 155 miles (250 km) of Libya’s Mediterranean coastline.

But it struggled to keep a footing elsewhere in Libya and was forced out of Sirte by last December after a six-month campaign led by brigades from the western city of Misrata and backed by US air strikes.

Islamic State militants have shifted to desert valleys and inland hills southeast of Tripoli as they seek to exploit Libya’s political divisions after their defeat in Sirte.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.