At least seven civilians killed in northeast Libya as Cairo vows to “punish” ISIL for beheading 21 Egyptian Christians.

by Al Jazeera

At least seven civilians, including three children, have been killed in Egyptian air strikes in northeast Libya.

The bombings came as Cairo vowed to find those responsible for the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians kidnapped by fighters pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Libya’s Sirte.

Sources told Al Jazeera on Monday that at least seven people were killed in air strikes in the coastal city of Derna after Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to “punish” those responsible for the beheadings.

Egypt’s military said it carried out the raids early on Monday against ISIL camps, training sites and weapons storage areas.

In a statement aired on state television, the military said: “The air strikes hit their [ISIL] targets precisely, and the falcons of our air forces returned safely to their bases.”

However, photos published on social media purportedly showed several damaged residential areas in Derna.

Omar al-Hassi, the head of Libya’s legally installed government in Tripoli, called the Egyptian raids “terrorism” and denounced them as a “sinful aggression”.

“This horrible assault and this terrorism that’s been conducted by the Egyptian military represents a violation of sovereignty in Libya and is a clear breach of international law and the UN charter,” Hassi said.

Following the raids, Sisi deployed the armed forces to protect key installations and buildings in Egypt.

Fighters pledging allegiance to ISIL released a video on Sunday purporting to show the killing of the Egyptians kidnapped in Libya.

The Egyptian government and the Coptic Church confirmed the authenticity of the footage, which showed the migrant workers, all wearing orange jumpsuits, being beheaded near a waterfront said to be located in the Libyan province of Tripoli.

The men were seized in two attacks in December and January from Sirte in eastern Libya.

Combating ISIL

In the wake of the video release, France and Egypt urged the UN Security Council to meet and consider fresh measures against ISIL.

French President Francois Hollande and Sisi spoke by telephone, highlighting “the importance that the Security Council meet and that the international community take new measures” against the spread of ISIL in Libya.

Egypt later confirmed it had signed a $5.8bn deal to buy French weaponry, including 24 Rafale combat jets, a multi-mission naval frigate and air-to-air missiles.

Libya has slid into chaos after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed three years ago, as interim authorities failed to confront powerful militias which fought to oust the longtime leader.

Taking advantage of the chaos, ISIL has carried out a string of deadly attacks.

The group has released several propaganda videos showing vows of allegiance from fighters in the country.

In October, Ansar al-Sharia in Derna pledged allegiance to ISIL.

Sunday’s video comes less than two weeks after ISIL released a video showing the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot it captured after his plane went down in Syria in December.

Egyptian president declares week of mourning after video emerges, apparently showing killings of 21 abducted Copts.

Islamic State militants have killed 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who were held hostage in Libya. Photo: Dabiq

by Al Jazeera

Fighters pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have released a video purporting to show the killing of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians kidnapped in Libya.

The Egyptian government and the Coptic Church confirmed the authenticity of the footage, released on Sunday.

It showed the Egyptian workers, all wearing orange jump suits, being beheaded near a waterfront said to be located in the Libyan province of Tripoli.

The men were seized in two attacks in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya.

In the wake of the video release, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for an urgent meeting of Egypt’s top national security team and declared seven days of mourning.

“Egypt reserves the right to respond in a suitable way and time to punish these murderers,” Sisi said in a televised speech.

Later, state television reported that Egypt’s military had bombed ISIL targets in Libya at dawn on Monday.

The Coptic Orthodox Church issued a statement saying it was “confident” the killers would be brought to justice.

Al-Azhar, the prestigious Cairo-based seat of Islamic learning, denounced the “barbaric” killings.

“Al-Azhar stresses that such barbaric action has nothing to do with any religion or human values,” it said in a statement.

Libya has slid into chaos after longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed three years ago, as interim authorities failed to confront powerful militias which fought to oust the authoritarian leader.

Taking advantage of the chaos, ISIL has carried out a string of deadly attacks.

The group has released several propaganda videos boasting vows of allegiance from fighters in the country. In October, Ansar al-Sharia in Derna pledged allegiance to ISIL.

Libya’s embattled parliament, which is locked in a conflict with militias, expressed its condolences in a statement and called on the world to “show solidarity with Libya” against ISIL.

The UN’s mission in Libya called for the group’s actions to be “rejected and denounced by all Libyans”.

A scrolling caption in the video referred to the hostages as “People of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church”.

Speaking in English, a fighter from the group said the beheadings were revenge for “Muslim women persecuted by Coptic crusaders in Egypt”.

Sunday’s video comes less than two weeks after ISIL released a video showing the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot it captured after his plane went down in Syria in December.