Egypt has carried out air strikes against Islamic State group targets in Libya after the jihadists posted a video showing the decapitation of 21 CopticChristians.
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Egypt Launches Airstrikes Against Libya Jihadists
The air strikes in the early morning hit IS camps and stores of weapons, the military said, hours after the jihadists released the gruesome footage of the beheadings.
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Witnesses said there were at least seven air strikes in Derna in the east, a hotbed of militancy since Libyan dictator MuammarGaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
It was not immediately clear whether other areas were also hit.
It was the first time Egypt announced military action against Islamist targets in its western neighbour, having previously denied it targeted militants there.
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"Your armed forces on Monday carried out focused air strikes in Libya against camps, places of gathering and training, and weapons depots," the military said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
State television showed footage of Egyptian fighter jets it said were taking off to conduct the strikes.
"Avenging Egyptian blood and retaliating against criminals and killers is a duty we must carry out," the military said.
The air strikes came hours after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threatened a "suitable response" to the killings of the Christians who had travelled to Libya seeking work.
Sisi, a former army chief who overthrew the Islamist president and then won elections touting his firm hand, faced a chorus of demands to retaliate after the beheadings.
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Egyptian television repeatedly played the video without the beheadings, showing black-clad militants leading their captives in orange jumpsuits along a beach before forcing them to kneel down.
H/T - 9News.com.au
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