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On Aug. 1, 2016, at the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the United States military conducted precision airstrikes against ISIS targets in Sirte, Libya. USA TODAY

Smoke rises after an airstrike on the District 3 of Sirte, the last stronghold of Islamic State fighters on Sept. 28, 2016. France will host an international meeting on strife-ridden Libya next week featuring several countries in the region including Egypt and Gulf states, the French government's spokesman said. / AFP PHOTO / Fabio BucciarelliFABIO BUCCIARELLI/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_GL7FA(Photo: Fabio Bucciarelli, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON Ahandful of drones controlled from the United States and a small force of offshore Marine aircraft played a decisive role in defeating Islamic State fightersin Libya last December, the most prominent example of how the U.S. military can helpwina key battlefrom afar.

The four-month air campaign to drive militants from Sirte without committing large numbers of U.S. advisers or ground forcesis being studied as a model for future U.S. military efforts against the Islamic Stateas its fighters are ousted from Iraq and Syria and seek refuge elsewhere.

The fighting in Sirte was in a densely packed city where nearly 70% of the drone missions were considered so close to friendly forces they needed special authorization.

The missiles were sometimes delivered within 30 yards of local allies. Were literally talking almost across city streets, Col. Case Cunningham, commander of the 432nd Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, said in a recent interview on the operation. He provided previously unreported details of the successful campaign.

There were no reports of civilian casualties.

The Sirte operation will serve as a model for future U.S. operations in the region, Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, recently told Congress.

Wherever they go were going to find them and rid cities of their presence, Cunningham said.

The U.S. Air Force relied exclusively on three MQ-9 Reapersflown from bases in Nevada, Tennessee and North Dakota.Marinesoperated from amphibious ships and asmall number of Special Forces were dispatched to workwith local ground forces fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

The Pentagon hadbecomeincreasingly alarmed overthe growing strength of ISISin Sirte, a city on the Mediterranean coast near Libya's valuable oil-producing operations.

Smoke billows from buildings after the air force from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity fired rockets targeting Islamic State positions in Sirte on July 18, 2016, during an operation to recapture the militants' coastal stronghold.(Photo: Mahmud Turkia, AFP/Getty Images)

ISIS, whichhad taken over the city in May 2015, expanded to about 6,000 fighters in Libya, the militants' largest stronghold outside of Iraq and Syria.It was an ideal place for the militants to grow: the centralgovernment was divided,militias held sway over much of the oil-rich country, andU.S. intelligence was sketchy.

Last summer, it became clear that a militia from Misrata, a coastal city about 150 miles west of Sirte, was willing to take on the militants and back Libya's newly established government of national accord. That prompted President Barack Obama to authorizemilitary support for the new government last July.The willingness of the Misrata militia to fight was impressive, said Col. Todd Simmons, commander of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Still, the challenge was enormous. The U.S. military was asked to provide airstrikes from afar with few contacts on the ground and in a heavilypopulated city.It was street-to-street fighting in a very dense environment, Cunningham said.

Teams of Special Forces in the area helpedoversee the fighting, and the Marines were forced to be creativein providingclose air support, Simmons said.

The Reaper drones producedround-the-clock imagesof what the city looked like, he said. My folks knew that town inside and out.

The Reapers also firedprecise Hellfire missiles and reacted quickly to threats, such astaking out an individual sniper in a building. Nearly 70% of the drone airstrikes were danger close, meaning they needed special authorization since friendly forces were inside the blast radius, Cunningham said.

Between August and December, the drones and Marines conducted 495 airstrikes in Sirte. By early December the Misrata militia had pushed out ISIS and controlled the city.

David Deptula, a retired Air Force three-star general,said the Sirte campaign highlights the effectiveness of such a remote-controlled operation. What people forget is that drones are the most precise and effective means of applying force at a distance that we have in our military inventory, he said.

Read more:

Exclusive: Inside the anti-Islamic State air campaign command center

Seen from above, how one of the largest airstrikes against ISIS unfolded

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How US drones helped win a battle against ISIS for first time in Libya - USA TODAY