Egypt Bombs ISIS Sites in Libya in Retaliation for the Beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts

Egypt today bombed sites in Derna, Libya, allegedly belonging to the ISIS. Photo credit: @FreeBenghazi (Twitter)

Egypt today bombed sites in Derna, Libya, allegedly belonging to the ISIS. Photo credit: @FreeBenghazi (Twitter)

Egypt bombed ISIS targets in Libya today, in retaliation to the grusesome beheading of 21 Coptic Christian Egyptian workers a day earlier.

The militant group shared a video on YouTube showing the beheading of the Egyptian workers, which were abducted over a month ago, creating an out roar in Egypt. Twitter has been flooded with expressions of sadness, sympathy, and anger after the news of the beheading of the 21 hostages spread. A flood of criticism also pointed out the failures of the current Egyptian administration.

According to news reports, about eight attacks targeted camps, training sites and weapon storage facilities in Derna, which has been taken over by an ISIS affiliate last year.

On its account on Twitter, The Libya Observer reported:

Free Benghazi tweets photographs, allegedly from Derna, where the airstrikes took place:

And Taqi Alshlawi, from Derna itself, shares this photograph:

First images

He also shares this 20-second video on YouTube to show the aftermath of the strikes:

On YouTube, libyatna (Our Libya) shares this 43-second video showing the aftermath of one of the strikes on Derna this morning:

The video shows destroyed buildings, in a residential area, with smoke billowing out of a building.

According to Mary Fitzgerald, who is a journalist and analyst focused on Libya, Derna is a hotbed of terrorists in East Libya:

But in another tweet, she notes:

And according to Elijah J. Magnier, AL RAI Chief International Correspondent:

On its Facebook page, the Egyptian Armed Forces shares this footage of its fighter jets taking off for the airstrikes on Libya.

Playing into the ISIS Plan:

For many on Twitter, the ISIS plan of pulling regional players into the conflict has paid off by beheading the 21 Coptic Egyptians in Libya.

Palestinian Iyad El-Baghdadi tells his 38.4K followers on Twitter:

And he further explains:

Proud Libyan says the attacks will only broaden support for ths ISIS in war fragmented Libya:

Doha-based Charles Lister, who is a Brookings Doha Centre fellow, chimes in:

And Magnier adds:

What do Libyans Say?

For Libyans, the strikes will further complicate a grave situation.

Writing on Libya Liberty on Twitter, Libyan-American microblogger Hend, told her 38.6K followers:

Proud Libyan offers the following advice to his countrymen and women:

The Twitter user, with around 5,000 followers, adds:

And UKWAS tells his 3,000 followers:

We no longer have time. Our options are limited and the horizon is getting narrower. Libyans will have to give up their stubbornness and enmity and unite or else we will have to forget that there was a country called Libya forever


Further Reading:

In Arabic, the hashtag #ضد_التدخل_العسكري_المصري_في_ليبيا which translates to Against the Military Intervention of Egypt in Libya has been active.

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