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Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after beheading video Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after beheading video
(about 2 hours later)
CAIRO — Egypt said Monday it had bombed Islamic State targets in Libya after the extremist jihadist group released a horrific video Sunday that appeared to show the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who had recently been taken hostage there. CAIRO —Egypt said it bombed Islamic State targets in Libya Monday in retaliation for the extremist group’s mass beheading of Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach Sunday, a gruesome killing that threatened to ensnare Egypt into a regional conflict with the jihadists.
A spokesman for Egypt’s Armed Forces General Command announced the airstrikes on Islamic State camps and training sites in Libya on Egyptian state radio Monday morning. Six F-16 Egyptian fighter jets targeted Islamic State training camps and weapons stocks in neighboring Libya in a wave of dawn airstrikes, according to a statement from the Egyptian Armed Forces.
It was the first time Egypt has publicly acknowledged taking military action in neighboring Libya, where extremist groups have taken hold since the ouster of long-time dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. “We must take revenge for the Egyptian blood that was shed,” said the statement, which was posted along with a video of a warplane taking off in the dark. “Seeking retribution from murderers and criminals is our duty. Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield that protects them.”
The statement said the airstrikes were meant “to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers.” The statement marked the first time Egypt has publicly acknowledged military involvement in Libya, which has been torn apart by political chaos since an uprising that ousted long-time dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. In August, U.S. intelligence officials said Egypt was carrying out strikes against Islamist groups in Libya in joint operations with the United Arab Emirates. Egypt denied those claims, however.
“Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield that protects them,” it said. The jihadist militants released a horrific video Sunday of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who had recently been taken hostage.
Libya’s air force meanwhile announced it had launched strikes in the eastern city of Darna, which was taken over by an Islamic State affiliate last year. The announcement, on the Facebook page of the Air Force chief of staff, gave no further details. In the video, masked militants claiming to belong to Islamic State marched the Christians from Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority onto a sandy beach, and forced them down to their knees before sawing off their heads.
In the video released Sunday, Islamic State fighters marched the Egyptian Christians onto a stretch of coastline before forcing them to kneel and severing their heads. The brutal murders were portrayed as retaliation against what a masked fighter described as “the hostile Egyptian church.” Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of the Egyptian population and suffer widespread discrimination and persecution. Libya’s air force also said Monday it had launched raids against militants in eastern Libya in coordination with Egypt. Egypt’s military did not specify where its strikes took place.
Reports in the Libyan press said raids in the eastern city of Derna, a jihadist stronghold, had killed a number of people, but those reports could not immediately be verified.
The brutal murders were portrayed as retaliation against what a masked fighter described as “the hostile Egyptian church.” Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of the Egyptian population and suffer widespread discrimination and persecution.
In a televised speech following the killings, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi announced that he was banning all Egyptians from entering Libya and that Egypt reserved the right to respond to the murders, which he called an “abhorrent act of terrorism.”In a televised speech following the killings, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi announced that he was banning all Egyptians from entering Libya and that Egypt reserved the right to respond to the murders, which he called an “abhorrent act of terrorism.”
The footage — titled “A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross” — was the first propaganda video from the Libyan branch of the Islamic State, which in Iraq and Syria has declared a caliphate over a wide swath of territory under its rule. The footage — titled “A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross” — was the first propaganda video from the Libyan branch of Islamic State, which in Iraq and Syria has declared a caliphate over a wide swath of territory under its rule.
In two incidents, 21 Egyptian Copts were kidnapped in the coastal city of Sirte in December and January. The Coptic Church in Egypt announced Sunday that it had identified the men in the video as the missing Egyptians.In two incidents, 21 Egyptian Copts were kidnapped in the coastal city of Sirte in December and January. The Coptic Church in Egypt announced Sunday that it had identified the men in the video as the missing Egyptians.
The White House condemned the killings in a statement late Sunday, calling them “despicable and cowardly.”The White House condemned the killings in a statement late Sunday, calling them “despicable and cowardly.”
“We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens,” the statement said. “ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds.”“We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens,” the statement said. “ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds.”
It added: “This heinous act once again underscores the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya, the continuation of which only benefits terrorist groups, including ISIL. We call on all Libyans to strongly reject this and all acts of terrorism and to unite in the face of this shared and growing threat.”It added: “This heinous act once again underscores the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya, the continuation of which only benefits terrorist groups, including ISIL. We call on all Libyans to strongly reject this and all acts of terrorism and to unite in the face of this shared and growing threat.”
In Libya, at least three groups have announced their allegiance to the Islamic State in recent months. The Islamic State’s “Tripoli Province,” or Wilayat Tripoli, claimed responsibility for the deaths of the Christians. The Islamic State had previously posted pictures of the captives, including Friday, when the group published images of the hostages in orange jumpsuits in its monthly online magazine. Egypt shares a porous 700-mile-long border with Libya. In the fracturing of the country after the removal of Gaddafi, Egypt has backed more secular forces aligned with former Libyan general Khalifa Hifter, who launched his own offensive against Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi last spring.
The crisis has split Libya’s leadership and armed groups that proliferated after the uprising into two vying governments – one led by Islamists in Tripoli, and another that is recognized by the international community in Tobruk.
The turmoil has allowed Islamic State jihadists to make inroads into some Libyan cities.
At least three militant groups have pledged allegiance to Islamic State in Libya, announcing “provinces” of the caliphate in the south, east and around the capital, Tripoli, in the west.
The Tripoli-based branch of the jihadists claimed the beheadings Sunday, as well as a high-profile attack against a luxury Tripoli hotel that killed one American last month.
The Islamic State’s “Tripoli Province,” or Wilayat Tripoli, claimed responsibility for the mass beheadings. Islamic State had previously posted pictures of the captives in orange jumpsuits in its monthly online magazine.
“Today we are south of Rome,” a militant wearing a brown ski mask said against a backdrop of gray storm clouds in the five-minute video. “We will conquer Rome with Allah’s permission.”“Today we are south of Rome,” a militant wearing a brown ski mask said against a backdrop of gray storm clouds in the five-minute video. “We will conquer Rome with Allah’s permission.”
The hostages were on the sand in orange jumpsuits, similar to those worn by U.S. hostages slain by the Islamic State in Syria. The hostages were on the sand in orange jumpsuits, similar to those worn by U.S. hostages slain by Islamic State in Syria.
“The sea where Sheik Osama bin Laden’s body was hidden, we swear to Allah we will mix with your blood,” the militant said.“The sea where Sheik Osama bin Laden’s body was hidden, we swear to Allah we will mix with your blood,” the militant said.
After the killings, the camera pans to waves red with the victims’ blood. Captions in the video refer to Kamilia Shehata, an Egyptian Coptic woman who in 2010 was rumored to have converted to Islam before police and the church clergy isolated her. After the killings, the camera pans to red with the victims’ blood. Captions in the video refer to Kamilia Shehata, an Egyptian Coptic woman who in 2010 was rumored to have converted to Islam before police and the church clergy isolated her.
“Blood is what awaits you for what you did to Kamilia and her sisters,” the caption reads.“Blood is what awaits you for what you did to Kamilia and her sisters,” the caption reads.
Before his address to the nation, Sissi called an emergency meeting with the National Defense Council, the country’s top security body, to discuss a possible response.Before his address to the nation, Sissi called an emergency meeting with the National Defense Council, the country’s top security body, to discuss a possible response.
The Egyptian government has backed Libyan forces that are fighting Islamist militants in the country but has refrained from directly involving Egyptian troops. The military is battling its own Islamist insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where a local militant group also announced it had joined the Islamic State in November. The Egyptian government has backed Libyan forces that are fighting Islamist militants in the country but has refrained from directly involving Egyptian troops. The military is battling its own Islamist insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where a local militant group also announced it had joined Islamic State in November.
Analysts have warned of the growing extremist threat in Libya, which shares a 700-mile border with Egypt and has struggled to form a state after the 2011 collapse of the Gaddafi regime. The Christian victims came from the southern Egyptian province of Minya — one of the most impoverished areas of Egypt.
The country is rife with armed militias vying for power and trying to pave the way for the rise of the Islamic State there, analysts say. Libyan militants have carried out attacks on Egyptian Christians living and working there, including the execution of seven Egyptians in Benghazi last year.
The majority of the victims came from a cluster of villages in the southern Egyptian province of Minya, which is one of the most impoverished areas of Egypt.
Before the turmoil of the Arab Spring in 2011, more than a million Egyptians worked mainly as menial laborers in Libya. According to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a local rights group, about 30 percent of Egyptians working in Libya are Christians.Before the turmoil of the Arab Spring in 2011, more than a million Egyptians worked mainly as menial laborers in Libya. According to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a local rights group, about 30 percent of Egyptians working in Libya are Christians.