The U.S. is in negotiations with North African countries to position
drones on their soil to combat the terrorist group ISIL, according to a report
in the Wall Street Journal.
US counterterrorism officials say ISIL is increasing active in Libya.
The establishment of a North African drone base would help eliminate
what counterterrorism officials describe as an intelligence “blind spot” for U.S.
and Western spy agencies.
Islamic State has claimed a number of attacks in North Africa
recently, including the killing of dozens of foreign tourists at a Tunisian
beach resort last month.
Drone flights from the base would provide the U.S. military and spy
agencies with real time intelligence on Islamic State activities in Libya.
U.S. officials acknowledged having too little intelligence on Islamic
State in Libya because existing bases are too far away to allow for consistent
surveillance.
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| US Air Force personnel (seen right) watch at a drone takes off |
So far, no North African country has agreed to host a drone base,
according to senior U.S. officials.
Governments in the region see Islamic State as a threat but are
worried the group will target them head on if they host the American military.
Administration officials declined to name the countries that could
host U.S. drones in the region, citing political sensitivities and concerns the information could prompt reprisals.
African countries have long been reluctant to host American military
personnel on their soil, complicating efforts by the U.S. military’s Africa
Command, known as Africom, to establish permanent footholds on the continent to
collect intelligence and project U.S. power in the vast area.
Africom itself was headquartered in Germany in part because African countries were so sensitive.
Demand within the Pentagon for surveillance flights has been growing
across the globe, and Africom hasn’t been the priority, according to current
and former military officials.
More drones are assigned to the U.S. Central Command’s areas of
responsibility, which stretches from Syria to Pakistan and covers war zones in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
However officials said Africom’s share of the Pentagon’s global fleet
of drones could increase in the coming years, in recognition of the region’s
growing importance to ISIS and other Islamist groups.