According to Egyptian state media, the nation’s military junta has launched multiple airstrikes against ISIS targets in neighboring Libya, hitting camps and training sites nationwide.
The pre-dawn attacks followed a Sunday video released by ISIS showing them beheading 21 captured Egyptian Coptic Christians, who were held in the Libyan coastal town of Sirte.
Junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed revenge for the beheadings on Sunday, and wasted no time in launching the airstrikes. A second round of airstrikes was reported later in the morning.
The Egyptian junta has been backing Libyan General Khalifa Hifter in his attempts to take over the country, first in a coup against the parliament and then on behalf of the parliament that replaced them. Egypt has launched a handful of airstrikes in support of Hifter’s force, though they control very little of the nation.
The ISIS faction in Libya was originally an unaffiliated Islamist faction in the nation’s northeast. Since pledging allegiance to ISIS, the group has become much more powerful and influential, and has carried out operations in several cities across Libya.
