US deploys helicopter gunships in battle against IS in Libya

[TomSea]

IS is being pushed way back from Sirte, Libya.  That is today's headlines, that Libyan militias took the town, this is from Aug. 24.

US deploys helicopter gunships in battle against IS in Libya

Military officials step up attacks in Sirte, using Cobra attack helicopters based on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp

The United States has begun using attack helicopters to target the Islamic State (IS) group in Sirte, a defence official said on Tuesday.

American jets have since the start of August been helping fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) retake the coastal city of Sirte, conducting dozens of strikes on IS fighting positions and equipment.

Anthony Falvo, a spokesman for the US military's Africa Command, said Marine Corps AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters had in recent days joined the operation.

"The Cobras provide additional precision air strike capability," Stuttgart-based Falvo told AFP in a phone interview. "It gives us a little bit more flexibility."

SuperCobra gunships are based on the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship in the Mediterranean.

Continued: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-deploys-helicopters-gunshps-battle-against-libya-1006406112

I wasn't aware we were giving such assistance.

[geronl]

Helicopters are more vulnerable than the jets