WASHINGTON — In a dramatic use of U.S. air power, a pair of B-2 stealth bombers flew from Missouri to North Africa on Wednesday and dropped dozens of bombs on two camps in the Libyan desert, killing more than 80 suspected Islamic State militants, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The long-range air raid, authorized by President Barack Obama two days before he leaves office, marks the first use of the radar-evading B-2 bombers in combat since the first night of the U.S.-led air war that helped local insurgents overthrow Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters at the Pentagon that some of the Islamic State operatives targeted Wednesday “were involved in plotting attacks in Europe.”
Launched from Whiteman Air Force Base, the B-2s bombed two sites about 30 miles southwest of Surt, a port city on the central Mediterranean coast that U.S.-backed Libyan forces recaptured last year from the militants.
Multiple armed MQ-9 Reaper drones circled overhead during the attack, U.S. officials said, firing missiles at anyone trying to flee.
The Air Force said it used 15 aerial refueling tankers to enable the B-2s to make the 10,000-mile, 34-hour, nonstop trip from Missouri to Libya and back.
The elaborate operation appeared to involve some posturing by the outgoing Obama administration, which is concerned that President-elect Donald Trump may pull back U.S. support for Libya’s struggling central government.
Last week, Russia moved the Admiral Kuznetsov, its only aircraft carrier, close to the Libyan coast and hosted the leader of one of Libya’s largest militias, one who is not part of the U.S.-backed unity government.
Pentagon officials insisted that the B-2s were selected over U.S. warplanes based in Europe or on U.S. aircraft carriers closer to Libya only because the B-2 can carry 20 tons of bombs and stay above a target longer than other aircraft.
Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, must approve each airstrike in Libya.
