Adding to the details about the US deployment of special forces into Libya to prepare for a ground invasion of the country, officials today revealed that two "military outposts" have been established in the country since late 2015, each containing "fewer than 25" troops.

Details are scant, but the bases are said to be located near Misrata and Benghazi, respectively. It is noteworthy that neither of these areas are under the control of either of the UN-backed governments, though Misrata is largely aligned with the Tripoli parliament, a third government that the UN doesn't recognize.

Benghazi, by contrast, is mostly under the control of an Islamist Shura Council which expelled ISIS and other foreign Islamist groups. The city is intermittently attacked by forces allied with the Tobruk parliament, but so far without much progress.