Egypt Bombs ISIS in Libya After 21 Egyptians are Beheaded by Jongsstraw

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Egypt Bombs ISIS in Libya After 21 Egyptians are Beheaded

POSTED BY: JONGSSTRAW
UPDATED: Thursday, February 19, 2015 14:31
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Monday, February 16, 2015 4:51 PM

Monday, 16 Feb 2015 11:58 AM

"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.

Cairo called on the U.S.-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.

Since the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, a number of Islamist movements have taken hold in Libya. Recently, some have declared ties to Islamic State and claimed high-profile attacks in what appears to be an intensifying campaign.

The U.S. 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.

Jordan has taken a leading role in conducting air strikes against the group in Syria and Iraq this month after the militants released a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage.

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.

The victims were among thousands of unemployed Egyptians desperately seeking work in Libya, despite the risks. Egypt's foreign ministry said it was banning travel to Libya and had set up a crisis centre to bring home Egyptians.

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 Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against him.

The killings put pressure on Sisi to show he is in control of national security, even as he makes progress against Islamist militant insurgents in the Sinai, some of whom have recently pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

"It's swift and decisive, it's not about strategy, it's about containing anger within Egypt," said Hassan Hassan, co-author of a book on Islamic State.

"Just like in Jordan, it's more about saving face, saying: 'You can't mess with us'. .... It's likely to evolve into a sustained strategy of helping in the fight against ISIS (Islamic State) in neighbouring countries."

Fears the crisis in Libya could spill across the border had already prompted Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, to upgrade its military hardware.

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 ($5.7 billion).

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."

© 2015 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved

Ho hum ... another day, another 21 bodies without heads.

ISIS victims ...

Iraqis
Americans
Syrians
Kurds
Japanese
Jordanians
Britons
Egyptians

Boy, it's a good thing for them they haven't beheaded any Russians or Samoans yet ... ISIS would sure be in big trouble then!

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Monday, February 16, 2015 8:49 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Just another random beheading.

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Monday, February 16, 2015 11:30 PM

JONGSSTRAW

Of course the Cum Stain-In-Chief Obama was in Palm Beach for the long weekend and played three rounds of golf with his millionnaire friends. He was too busy to comment on the beheadings.

The White House did issue a statement condemning the killings, but failed to mention the victims were all Christians, and failed to mention the murderers were Islamic jihadists.

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Monday, February 16, 2015 11:55 PM

JONGSSTRAW

Maybe one of the all-knowing liberal pukes here can answer some simple questions I have about this.

.. Does ISIS recycle the severed heads and bodies?

.. Does cutting off heads damage the ozone layer?

.. Do they use a biodegradable cleanser on the blood-stained orange suits?

.. Should the U.N. investigate whether their human rights were violated?

.. Did this really happen, or is it just a Koch Brothers conspiracy?

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015 10:22 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

And then there's this...

Quote:

UNITED NATIONS – Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations asked the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to look at allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a way to finance its operations.

Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim told reporters that in the past few weeks, bodies with surgical incisions and missing kidneys or other body parts have been found in shallow mass graves.

"We have bodies. Come and examine them," he said. "It is clear they are missing certain parts."

He also said a dozen doctors have been "executed" in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting.

Alhakim briefed the council on the overall situation in Iraq and accused the Islamic State group of "crimes of genocide" in targeting certain ethnic groups.

The outgoing U.N. envoy to Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, told the council that 790 people were killed in January alone by terrorism and armed conflict.

Mladenov noted the increasing number of reports and allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a financing method, but he said only that "it's very clear that the tactics ISIL is using expand by the day." He used an acronym for the group.

He said Iraq's most pressing goal is to win back the vast territory that the Islamic State group has seized in the past year. The Sunni militants seized a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed strict Sharia law.

"Especially worrying is the increasing number of reports of revenge attacks committed particularly against members of the Sunni community in areas liberated from ISIL control," Mladenov said.

And I won't point out that you're following Obama's lead by not referring to the 21 beheaded men as CHRISTIANS, which they were.

Who knew Jongs was such an Obama-bot.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015 4:16 PM

JONGSSTRAW

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015 6:32 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by G:
Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

And I won't point out that you're following Obama's lead by not referring to the 21 beheaded men as CHRISTIANS, which they were.

Not saying Christians is pretty smart imho, creates a broader coalition against IS - let's not divide them up into smaller groups, or make it "Christians versus...."
I'm thinking Obama realizes it would be a world ending s-storm if he was the one who helped start a religious world war.

But they WERE Christians. Coptic, if that makes any difference. And that's why they were butchered.

What would the world reaction be if 21 Muslims were lined up, and beheaded ? Because they were Muslims ?

Oh wait. ISIS has done that already, and worse.

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Thursday, February 19, 2015 1:59 PM

JONGSSTRAW