The nearly week-long battle for Tripoli's International Airport continues on, and sadly, a very new $225M Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 has been the latest aircraft victim of the shelling. The fighting is between an Islamist Militia and a more moderate one that originates from the western city of Zintan that currently controls the airport.
This is latest battle is by no means the first incident of heavy violence that Tripoli's main airport has seen since tyrant leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted back in 2011, yet it has been the first where there have been heavy losses of material and infrastructure.
As Libya continues to descend into chaos it will be interesting to see just how long America keeps its Embassy open in Tripoli. Last week the UN finally pulled out its remaining representatives and without a functioning commercial airport, international commerce and diplomacy will be severely hampered, and although it will be a major political blow to the Obama Administration, maybe the time has come to get our people out.
Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer that maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com