US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter insisted yesterday that Libyans would do most of the fighting against Islamic State (Isis) terrorists in their country.

His comments came a day after anonymous officials in his department revealed that they were asking the Treasury for $200 million (£140m) next year to fight a new war against Isis across north and west Africa.

That figure is likely to cover increased drone operations over Africa, as the military struggles to provide real-time intelligence through 24-hour unmanned aircraft patrols in the coming years.