Egypt Air Force: 15 Trucks Destroyed in Airstrikes Along Libya Border

Officials Say Trucks Were Arms Smugglers,, Offer No Other Details

The Egyptian Air Force has issued a statement today claiming to have destroyed 15 trucks traveling in from the border area near Libya, but offering surprisingly little details on whose trucks they were, or whether anyone was killed in the process of the attacks.

The only information, beyond the number of trucks, came in a statement on Egypt’s military’s Facebook page, in which they claimed the trucks were carrying smuggled weapons in from Libya. Again, no detaiils were offered on whose weapons they were.

The weapons smuggling claim is likely credible, however, as since the NATO-imposed regime change in Libya in 2011, massive weapons stocks that had been in the stockpiles of the old government have been spread around the region, and indeed the world, arms markets.

Since the really big wars are in the Middle East, Egypt is a straight shot for weapons smuggling from Libya into the region, so it’s unsurprising that Egypt would have to deal with that problem. 15 trucks, however, is an awfully big number, and raises questions about just what was being sent through, and by whom.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.