A team of British military and intelligence officers last week undertook a secret reconnaissance mission to Libya to plan RAF airstrikes against Isis militants in the strife-torn north African state, the Sunday Times reported.

Six RAF officers flew to an airbase in eastern Libya, controlled by pro-western militia forces, along with a group of MI6 operatives, diplomats from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and US and French military personnel.

Their mission, near the coastal city of Tobruk, was to build up intelligence on the location of Isis fighters and draw up potential targets for possible British and coalition airstrikes.

Plans for military action against Isis in Libya have stepped up amid fears that the terrorist group, which controls a long stretch of coastline around the city of Sirte, is preparing to shift its headquarters from Syria to north Africa and threaten the Mediterranean.

Source: MENA