B-2 bombers kill nearly 100 ISIS terrorists in Libya

Two B-2 “stealth” bombers struck Islamic State targets in Libya on Wednesday evening, killing nearly 100 terrorists just two days before President Obama is set to leave office, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News.

The B-2s dropped 108 precision-guided bombs on two ISIS training camps 30 miles southwest of the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, killing an estimated 85 fighters, a defense official said.

President Obama authorized the action. Most of the terrorists targeted had escaped Sirte after extensive military actions there.

U.S. drones "cleaned up" the operation by launching hellfire missiles that killed a several of ISIS fighters trying to run to safety.

The bombers took off from their permanent base in Missouri and refueled at least five times during the mission. The planes flew around the world and back without landing.

Two U.S. Navy ships -- the USS Donald Cook and USS Porter -- remained in the Mediterranean to provide search and rescue if necessary.

The strikes used strategic nuclear-capable bombers as opposed to more conventional jets stationed in England in order to "send a strategic message" to other adversaries such as Russia and China, a source told Fox News.

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is about to leave the Mediterranean after hosting a Libyan general, Khalifa Haftar, fighting the U.S. and U.N.-backed government in Tripoli. The Russians reportedly pledged weapons and financial support.

The U.S. has conducted 495 airstrikes in Sirte since August, mostly from drones flown from Tripoli to target ISIS. Marine Harrier jets and Cobra attack helicopters conducted airstrikes as well from a Navy amphibious assault ship off the coast of Libya in August.

At the start of the August strikes, Pentagon officials said the bombing campaign would last “weeks.” President Obama approved extensions to the campaign four times.

Late last month, the U.S. Africa Command announced the bombing campaign had ended.

The military has conducted unilateral strikes two other times since November 2015, targeting ISIS camps and leaders. These strikes originated out of an Air Force base in England.

The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against different terror groups in seven countries: Libya, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.

[Jennifer Griffin/Fox News]