EGYPT STRIKE IS AFTER BEHEADINGS
Video purports to show IS militants beheading 21 Egyptian hostages
The killings raise the possibility that the IS group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq in a self-declared caliphate — has established direct affiliate less than 800 kilometers from southern tip of Italy
CAIRO — Egypt said yesterday it has launched airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Libya after the extremist group released a grisly video showing the beheading of several Egyptian Coptic Christians it had held hostage for weeks.
The killings raise the possibility that the IS group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq in a self-declared caliphate — has established a direct affiliate less than 800 kilometers from the southern tip of Italy.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces General Command announced the strikes on state radio yesterday, marking the first time Cairo has publicly acknowledged taking military action in neighboring Libya, where extremist groups seen as a threat to both countries have taken root in recent years.
The statement said the warplanes targeted weapons caches and training camps before returning safely.
It said the strikes were “to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers.”
“Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield that protects them,” it said.
One of the militants in the video makes direct reference to that possibility, saying the group now plans to “conquer Rome.”
The militants had been holding 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians hostage for weeks, all laborers rounded up from the city of Sirte in December and January.
It was not clear from the video whether all 21 hostages were killed. It was one of the first such beheading videos from an IS group affiliate to come from outside the group’s core territory in Syria and Iraq.
The Associated Press could not imme- diately independently verify the video. But the Egyptian Government and the Coptic Church, which is based in Egypt, both declared it authentic.
The Egyptian Government declared a seven-day mourning period and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi addressed the nation late Sunday night, pledging resilience in the fight against terrorism.
“These cowardly actions will not undermine our determination” said el-Sissi, who also banned all travel to Libya by Egyptian citizens and said his government reserves the right to seek retaliation. (AP)