and small teams of U.S. military personnel moved in and out of the country over a period of months in early 2016. British, French, Italian and Jordanian special forces as well as the British RAF were also in Libya helping with aerial surveillance, mapping and intelligence gathering in several cities, including Benghazi in the east and Zintan in the west, according to two Libyan military officials who were coordinating with them. British and American special forces were also carrying out intelligence-gathering operations around Sirte. Since the beginning of 2016, British Special forces have been escorting teams of MI6 agents to meet with Libyan officials and organise the supplying weapons and training to the Libyan Army and to militias fighting against ISIL. On 27 February 2016, The Telegraph reported that British special forces had deployed alongside its U.S. counterparts in the city of Misrata to stop Islamist militants progress, their main role is to give tactical training to local militias and to build an army to fight ISIL. In May 2016, it was reported that British special forces engaged in frontline combat against ISIL in Libya; in particular they destroyed two ISIL suicide vehicles that were targeting Libyan fighters. On 12 May, at the Shaddadah Bridge, 50 miles south of Misrata, the approach of a suicide vehicle sent Libyan forces fleeing in panic, British special forces intervened and destroyed the vehicle with a missile. An estimated dozen U.S. special forces operated out of a base near Misrata and were in action near Tripoli. In a plan disclosed in late 2015, Britain was to offer the Libyan government 1,000 troops as part of a 5,000-strong combined with Italy, to train and equip the Libyan forces rather than take part in frontline fighting. In addition, British defence minister Michael Fallon announced that Britain is sending 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade to Tunisia to help prevent Islamic State fighters from moving into the country from Libya. In June 2016, it was reported that ISIL militants were retreating from Sirte and some fighters reportedly cutting off their beards and long hair to blend in with civilians as militia fighters allied to the unity government pushed into the city in tanks and armed trucks. The militias, mostly from Misrata, are allied to and are the main fighting force for the U.N.-brokered unity government installed in Tripoli the previous year. On 11 June, the BBC