The Islamic State (ISIS) is now in control of a city in Libya that lies a little more than 200 miles from Greece.
Derna is situated on Libya's northern border along the Mediterranean Sea. ISIS fighters totaling 800, according to a
CNN report, have control over the city of about 100,000 people.
Crete, Greece's most populous island, is 211 miles northeast of Derna across the sea.
ISIS is seizing on the political instability that has gripped Libya as the group marches west from Iraq and Syria, reports CNN. Derna is about 200 miles west of Libya's border with Egypt.
Some of the ISIS fighters in Derna, according to CNN, are training new recruits in a nearby mountain range, while others are manning camps on the edge of the city. The terror group conducts executions in the city's soccer stadium and its black flags are everywhere.
"Derna today looks identical to Raqqa, the ISIS headquarters town in Syria," Noman Benotman, a ex-Libyan jihadist who is now involved in counter-terrorism for the Quilliam Foundation, told CNN. "ISIS pose a serious threat in Libya. They are well on the way to creating an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya."
The ISIS fighters in Derna have been bolstered by scores of local Libyans pledging their allegiance to the terror group and signing up to join its ranks, reports the
International Business Times.
Other Derna residents are not happy with the ISIS takeover of their city, but there's little they can do because Libya currently lacks an organized government.
Libya, however, is pushing back. The CNN report claims the country's air force conducted airstrikes on ISIS strongholds in Derna last week.
The United States, meanwhile, has been hitting ISIS positions via airstrikes since August. Many have called for President Barack Obama to send in ground troops to battle the group that is taking over cities in Syria, Iraq, and now Libya. So far, Obama has stood by his decision to limit the military campaign to the air.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week ground troops are still on the table.