Egypt bombs IS targets in Libya after beheading of 21 nationals.

Cairo: The Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed  al Tayeb (right), offers condolences to Egypt’s Coptic  Pope Tawadros II at a cathedral on Monday

CAIRO | AFP | 17 Feb 2015 : :  Egyptian jets bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, a day after the group there released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, drawing Cairo directly into the conflict across its border.

Egypt said the pre-dawn strike hit militant camps, training sites and weapons storage areas in neighbouring Libya, where civil conflict has plunged the country into near anarchy and created havens for armed factions.

While Cairo is believed to have provided clandestine support to a Libyan general fighting a rogue government in Tripoli, the mass killings pushed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi into open action, expanding his battle against Islamist militancy.

“And let those near and far know that the Egyptians have a shield that protects and preserves the security of the country, and a sword that eradicates terrorism,” the military said.

Egyptian state television aired footage of fighter planes leaving a hangar with “Long live Egypt” emblazoned on the tails, followed by night-vision aerial footage showing bomb explosions and the aircraft returning in early daylight.

Libya’s air force also participated in Monday’s attack, which targeted Derna, an eastern coastal city seen as a base for Islamic State fighters in the oil-rich nation.

“There are casualties among individuals, ammunition and the (Islamic State) communication centres,” Libyan air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi told Egyptian state television, adding that dozens were killed.

Joroushi, who is loyal to Libya’s internationally recognised government that set up camp in the city of Tobruk after losing control of Tripoli, said there would be more strikes on Tuesday.

The rival Tripoli-based parliament, which is supported by some Islamist groups, said the strike was an assault on the country’s sovereignty. Omar al-Hassi, the premier of the self-declared Tripoli government, said three children, two elderly men and a 21-year-old woman were killed in the attack.

It was not possible to confirm either factions’ accounts of the number or nature of the casualties.

CHRISTIAN ANGER: Cairo called on the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to broaden the scope of their operations to include Libya, highlighting how the militant group has expanded its reach around the Arab world.

The US military estimated in December that only around 200 Islamic State fighters were operating in the country.

Egypt is not the only Arab nation sucked into confrontation with the group by the gruesome killings of its citizens.

The 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were marched to a beach, forced to kneel and then beheaded on video, which was broadcast via a website that supports Islamic State.

Before the videoed killings, one of the militants stood with a knife in his hand and said: “Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for.” Afterwards, he says: “And we will conquer Rome, by the will of Allah.” The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, condemned the beheadings.

“They were killed simply for the fact that they were Christians,” he said at the Vatican. “It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians!” Egypt’s Coptic Christian pope was one of the public figures who backed Sisi when he, as army chief, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against him.

France has said Egypt will order 24 Rafale fighter jets, a naval frigate and other equipment in a deal to be signed in Cairo on Monday worth more than 5 billion euros ($5.7bn).

French President Francois Hollande said on Monday that he and Sisi wanted the United Nations Security Council to discuss Libya and take new measures against the Islamic State. ( Courtesy : Dawn )

Four Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi attacks.

AFP/AFP/File - Libyan security forces are seen advancing during clashes with anti-government forces following an attack on a Benghazi police station, early on May 2, 2014

Four Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi attacks.

Yahoo News |AFP | 16 May 2014 : : Four Libyan soldiers were shot dead on Sunday in separate incidents in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprising, security and medical sources said.

"Unidentified gunmen killed four soldiers and wounded another in Benghazi, while another was wounded in an assassination attempt," a security official told AFP.

A spokeswoman at the city's Al-Jala hospital, Fadia al-Barghathi, confirmed the soldiers' deaths. The security official said they had been killed in separate attacks.

An officer died in a hail of bullets in the city centre district of Al-Hadaek. His son, who was with him in his car at the time, escaped unscathed.

The same source said three more soldiers were killed and one wounded in two attacks in the Assalem neighbourhood.

It was in Benghazi that the 2011 uprising which ended dictator Moamer Kadhafi's four-decade rule began.

The city has since been plagued by violence that has killed dozens of members of the security forces, judges and foreigners.

A suicide bombing targeting a security post near the city in December killed 13, and on May 2 five soldiers and a policeman died in clashes between jihadists and army special forces.

Libya's central authorities have struggled to assert their control over the vast, mostly desert country, which is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local militias and awash with heavy weapons.

In March, the authorities acknowledged for the first time the existence of "terrorist groups" in v, particularly in Benghazi and in Derna, an eastern city with a history of Islamist militancy. ( Courtesy : Yahoo News )

Russian embassy in Libya attacked.

Russian embassy in Libya attacked.

Watch footage of the aftermath of the attack on the Russian embassy

04 Oct 2013 :: Gunmen have attacked the Russian embassy in Libya, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

The unidentified attackers shot at the Tripoli compound and tried to force entry, officials said.

A BBC journalist at the scene said the situation has now calmed down and security forces have arrived.

Officials said the attackers climbed the walls of the premises from three different directions.

The BBC understands the protesters were reacting to the recent alleged killing of a Libyan by a Russian woman.

"The group attacked the compound as an act of revenge," a security source told Reuters news agency.

Libya has been hit by many targeted killings of activists and security agents in recent months.

An attack last year on a US compound in the city of Benghazi killed four people, including the US ambassador.

In April, a car bomb outside the French embassy in Tripoli injured two French guards and a number of residents.

A car bomb was found outside the Italian embassy in June, while the UK withdrew some embassy staff in May over security concerns.(Courtesy:BBC News)