Drones in North Africa for Surveillance of ISIS.

Washington, 13 July 2105(Lana) The United States is holding discussions with countries in North Africa about locating drones at a base there to heighten monitoring of Islamic State in Libya, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a senior administration official. Such a base near Islamic State strongholds in Libya would help the United States "fill gaps in our understanding of what's going on" in that region, the official was quoted as saying. U.S. military officials told the paper that drones launched from the proposed base could also be used in air strikes against Islamic State targets in Libya, and that the base could be a launching point for special operations missions against militants. The Journal, citing senior U.S. officials, said no North African country had yet agreed to offer access to a base. It quoted officials as saying any such facility would likely be an existing base under the control of the host country, with the United States receiving permission to place drones there along with a limited number of military personnel. The drone flights would give U.S. military and intelligence agencies real-time information on the militant group's activities in Libya, it said. =Lana=