As many as 20 British jihadists are fighting in Libya with Islamist groups, including Isis, as the terrorist organisation seeks to cling on to its last stronghold in the country.
According to intelligence sources, some of the British fighters have fled Syria as a result of the coalition’s bombing campaign, while others have travelled directly to Libya from the UK .
Isis developed a strong presence in the city of Sirte, where Libya’s former dictator, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, was killed 69 years after he was born in the desert nearby .
Isis also ran a network of terrorist training camps in Libya, including one attended by Seifeddine Rezgui, the gunman who murdered 30 British tourists on a Tunisian beach in June last year.
In an offensive by militias aligned with the new government of national accord, Isis has been driven from large areas of Sirte and has lost about a third of the 150 miles of coastline that it controlled in January.
Fierce fighting continues, with hundreds of Isis insurgents holed up in Sirte as others flee south into the desert.
The Sunday Times has learnt that during the recent offensive, UK special forces used drones to alert Libyan militias to possible Isis suicide counterattacks.
Small teams of elite soldiers from the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service are acting as “listeners and watchers” for the local militias, and are using unmanned aircraft to monitor any attempts by Isis to launch attacks with lorries or cars laden with explosives.
Sources say the British special forces have helped to foil two attacks. On one occasion British personnel tracked the preparation of two Isis vehicle bombs.
Eight hours after being loaded with explosives, the vehicles began moving towards Libyan troops, prompting a British team to call a 6am meeting with commanders in the city of Misrata. The militia commanders were given the co-ordinates of the vehicles and used artillery to destroy them.
“They [the British] have drones that they use to get the co-ordinates of where the enemy is concentrated, especially when they are preparing for a suicide attack,” a Libyan commander confirmed.
Britain, America and France are all believed to have sent special forces troops to Libya because of fears about the jihadist threat on Europe’s doorstep. They have reportedly been armed with shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons.
“They don’t actually engage in any fighting, but they scan and monitor the area and give information and intelligence so that we can eliminate targets ourselves,” the commander said.
“When we take out these targets, we say that it was our troops, but the reality is that we do not fire on targets until we receive exact co-ordinates, positions and instructions from our foreign friends.”
It was estimated two months ago that there were 6,000 Isis fighters in Libya, and intelligence agencies feared the group could send terrorists across the Mediterranean and into Europe.
Despite the battlefield setbacks suffered by Isis, one intelligence official warned this weekend that the “arc of instability” posed by the terrorist group would continue to grow as its fighters were forced to disperse.
“The more dispersed the Isis fighters become, the more difficult it is going to be for us to keep track of them,” the source said. “At least in Syria we know where they are — caught up in a big fight. It’s a worrying trend that around 20 of the British jihadists have travelled to Libya, and no doubt others will follow.”
About 100 British military personnel are said to be based in buildings around the northwestern city of Misrata.
An employee of a local construction firm said a contract had been issued in early May to boost security at the site by building a high wall.
The British troops are likely to be using US drones for their surveillance missions. Whitehall sources insist that none of the RAF’s 10 Reaper drones is operating over Libya.
Earlier this year the Italian government reportedly began allowing armed US drones to fly from an airbase in Sicily.
Lorry bombs have been used by Isis militants in Iraq, Syria and Libya to help the group make breakthroughs on the battlefield.
Local sources claim Isis is now changing its tactics by disguising suicide vehicles as family cars and filling them with “blankets and bedding” to make it appear they are being used by refugees fleeing Isis territory.
The Ministry of Defence said it did not comment on special forces activity.
thetimes.co.uk