US Drone
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Tunisia did not allow the United States to use a base of the national army to operate drone missions against Daesh positions in Libya, Defense Ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati told Sputnik on Thursday commenting on recent US media reports. He added that Tunisia would not allow any foreign forces to use its territory to carry out military operations. "Reports that Tunisia allowed Washington to use a military base to fly drones to Sirte to conduct anti-Daesh military operations in Libya are unsubstantiated," Oueslati said.

On Thursday, Pentagon official revealed to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity that the United States had been secretly using an army base in Tunisia to operate intelligence missions in Libya.

Daesh terrorist group gained a foothold in Libya in the turmoil following the 2011 ouster of the country's longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.


Comment: This from PressTV:
Tunisia's Defense Minister Farhat Horchani on Thursday ruled out any possibility that foreign forces could have direct access to Tunisian military bases or run their own in the country. "We don't -- and won't -- have a foreign military base in Tunisia," Horchani said, adding, "We were one of the few first countries to oppose a foreign military intervention in Libya."

A Tunisian Defense Ministry spokesman also said on Thursday that the North African country has never allowed Washington to operate unmanned planes from its territory for anti-Daesh missions. "Tunisian soil has never been and never will be used to strike targets in Libya. The drones are used by Tunisians and no one else," Belhassen Oueslati said, adding, "As part of Tunisian-US bilateral cooperation, we have acquired drones to train our military personnel to use this technology and to control our southeastern border with Libya and detect any suspicious movement."

The remarks came after US media claimed that Washington has expanded its deployment of drones to North Africa as part of a secret program.

A report by the Washington Post said on Wednesday that unmanned aircraft and US military personnel had been deployed to a facility in Tunisia to conduct spy missions in neighboring Libya. The paper added that "drones began flying out of the Tunisian base in late June," claiming that the dispatch of the planes was a key element of the extended US air offensive against a Daesh stronghold in Libya.