The Pentagon has reportedly developed a plan that they believe will “cripple” ISIS’ affiliate in Libya, allowing the various “Western-backed” militias to defeat them outright. The plan was presented to the White House at a meeting in late February.

The plan is said to involve “as many as 30 to 40” airstrikes across Libya, which further throws into doubt previous US claims that ISIS has some 6,000 fighters across Libya, as it is doubtful the average strike would be killing upwards of 200 people.

Administration officials say the plan is there, but is not “actively” being considered for the time being, because the US is focusing on installing a “unity government” in Libya first, before intervening militarily.

This echoes similar reports from Italy, where classified documents reported they were in the process of sending ground troops to Libya, only for the government to later insist this was on hold pending the unity government deal.

The UN tried to negotiate a unity deal before, only for the government to declare itself in Tunisia, and ultimately find itself stuck there, unable to cross the border. That UN-backed unity government was spurned by the UN-backed Tobruk government.