Just days after describing the failure to prevent extremists filling a power vacuum in Libya as the “worst mistake” of his presidency, Obama’s remarks underline growing White House anxiety about the foothold gained by Isis in the country.
“As we, and our foreign allies and partners, have made it harder for foreign terrorists to reach Syria and Iraq, we have seen an uptick in the number of Isis fighters heading to Libya,” Obama told reporters at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, after a meeting with intelligence chiefs intended to review US strategy against the terror group.