1:23
- ABC News
- February 16, 2015
AC
Beheadings of Egyptian Christians raises profile, brings Egyptian airstrikes.
1:23
A spokesperson for Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al–Thinni, who holds tenuous control over Libya’s internationally recognized government, told the BBC that the Egyptian strikes were part of a coordinated effort with Libya to strike the eastern city of Derna, home to extremists loyal to the Islamic State.
It’s the first attack inside Libya that Egypt has publicly acknowledged -- in spite of accusations from Islamists in Libya that Egypt has carried out strikes on jihadists on behalf of Libya’s air force.
\"Eight strikes have been conducted so far. The plan is to target all IS [ISIS] locations in the country wherever they are,\" said Mohamed Bzazh, a Libyan government spokesman.
Libyan Air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi told Reuters that Libyan planes had targeted Sirte and Bin Jawad, and on Egyptian state TV, Joroushi said the strikes had killed “not less than 40 or 50” people.
\"What happened now is not the first crime, and it's a clear proof and confirmation of the increasing threat of terrorism in Libya,” Bzazah said.
In the nearly four years since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed in Libya, the country has been plagued by instability giving birth to opportunist militant groups nationwide and two rival governments, one led by the Libya Dawn movement in Tripoli and the second, headed by al-Thinni, operated out of Bayda and Tobruk.
Libya 'Ripe' for ISIS
Over the last year, the combination of Libya’s civil war breaking out and the rapid rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq means Libya was “a really ripe opportunity for ISIS seeking to expand,” said Christopher Chivvis, associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center and a senior political scientist with the Rand Corporation.
Analysts said jihadis loyal to ISIS began to gain a foothold in the country last fall but burst into the limelight at the end of January when five foreigners, including an American, were killed at Tripoli’s Corinthia Hotel by attackers pledging allegiance to the group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Chivvis said there’s no doubt a relationship exists between the Libyan Islamists and to the core ISIS group, which released the weekend video, “but I would be surprised if it was one of direct command and control -- if these groups were taking orders on specific operations directly.”
“More likely,” he said, \"they’re inspired by the idea of what appears to be the most popular and most gruesome jihadists organization today. ... And it’s clear that ISIS is actively trying to encourage them.”
Last month, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani challenged al Qaeda on its home turf by welcoming in an audio speech the pledges of fealty made by some Taliban commanders.
\"The factions will assemble against you and the rifles and bayonets will multiply against you. But you are up to it, with Allah’s permission. So unsheathe your swords and take out your spears,\" al-Adnani advised them.
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