It seems a while since David Cameron and Barack Obama plus Sarkozy, the former President of France, were hailed as heroes for liberating Libya from Colonel Gaddafi. But after that, it seemed the west walked away from that country, supposedly with a democratic government under the old flag of Libya replacing the plain green of Colonel Gaddafi's regime.

The supposedly democratic government couldn't keep control of Libya though, because rebel elements who helped the west overthrow Gaddafi were now fighting amongst themselves, wanting to seize power for themselves, and so the situation gradually became civil war like.

Now, with Islamic State gaining control of Sirte and the surrounding area. and carrying out atrocities like the beheading of the 13 Egyptian Christians and the attack on the Corinthia hotel, which is where westerners mainly stay, it is becoming a worry for mainland Europe.

The Italians are worried that Islamic State fighters pretending to be refugee boat people, could be picked up by the Italian navy and ferried to Italy, where these IS fighters could cause all sorts of mischief in Italy and other European countries, as in the example of the attacks in Paris and Copenhagen.

Mosul in Iraq, which is currently under Islamic State control, have even dispatched an Emir to take control of Islamic State controlled areas of Libya around the city of Sirte and Derna.

In the nearby town of Misrata, another Islamic group called Dawn holds sway. They are not exactly on best terms with Islamic State and certainly do not want IS taking control of large swathes of Libya. It is difficult to determine how far Islamic State have support in Libya, and how other groups including Dawn will react to their presence and how much resistance the current Libyan government - already struggling to keep control of the territorial integrity of the country - can fight Islamic State.

The Egyptians already fighting Islamic extremism in Sinai - courtesy of the Muslim brotherhood - have carried out airstrikes on Islamic State targets, in revenge for the execution of the Egyptian Coptic Christians. They want the west to help them fight Islamic State, but the west, notably the Obama regime seem reluctant to get involved.

Certainly the presence of IS, gaining a toehold in Libya is worrying, but how much of a worry it will be to force the hand of the west to help the Libyans and Egyptians remains to be seen.