The February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya against
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
positions in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
took place on 16 February 2015, and were triggered by a video released by ISIL in Libya a day earlier, depicting the
beheading of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt. Within hours, the
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...
responded with airstrikes against ISIL training camps and weapons stockpiles
in retaliation for the killings.
Warplanes acting under orders from the Libyan government also struck targets in
Derna, reportedly in coordination with Egypt.
The air strikes had allegedly killed up to 64 ISIL militants, including three of the leadership, in the coastal cities of Derna and
Sirte
Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...
. Libyan media reported that at least 35 more Egyptians had been rounded up by ISIL in retaliation for the air raids.
As the airstrikes took place, Egypt's Foreign Ministry called on the US-led coalition striking Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant targets in Syria and Iraq to broaden its scope to North Africa and take action against the extremist group in Libya.
Background
In 2011, a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
-backed
uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
toppled Libya's longtime ruler
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
, and the country has witnessed instability and unrest ever since. Egyptian authorities have long expressed concern over the instability in eastern Libya spilling over into Egypt due to the rise of jihadist movements there, a region which Cairo believes to have developed into a safe transit for wanted Islamists following the
2013 coup d'état in Egypt that ousted
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
-backed president
Mohamed Morsi
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012
Khalifa Haftar
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA) ...
's
Operation Dignity
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Second Libyan Civil War
, partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict
, image ...
offensive in May 2014, especially with the kidnapping of truck drivers and sometimes workers were murdered. In addition to this, arms smuggled from Libya, including rockets and anti-aircraft weaponry, have flooded Egypt's black markets through the porous border both countries share, often reaching
extremist militants in the Sinai region of Egypt who heavily rely on these weapons.
Due to this, the military-backed government in Egypt had many reasons to support Haftar's rebellion. Furthermore, Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...
, who has become increasingly popular among many Libyans wishing for stability, has called on the United States multiple times to intervene militarily in Libya, warning that the country was becoming a major security challenge. He previously vowed not to allow the turmoil there to threaten Egypt's national security.
Following the
seizure of Tripoli's international airport by
Misrata
Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With ...
-based Islamist militias, the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and Egypt were accused by senior American officials in August 2014 of raiding the militants several times with warplanes stationed in Egyptian air bases.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' also reported, quoting US officials, that a
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
team based in Egypt, likely involving Emirati personnel as well, stormed an Islamist camp in Derna, destroying it a few months prior to the August airstrikes.
Beheading of Copts
On 12 February 2015, the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
released a report in their online magazine ''
Dabiq'', showing photos of 21 Egyptian
Coptic Christians
Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...
they had kidnapped in the city of
Sirte
Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...
and whom they threatened to kill to "avenge the
llegedkidnapping of Muslim women by the Egyptian Coptic Church".
Three days later, a video showed up purportedly showing the beheading of the captives on a beach. The Coptic Church of Egypt confirmed the deaths, while
Al-Azhar
Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic ...
condemned the incident. Sisi announced a seven-day period of national mourning and called for an urgent meeting with the country's top security body.
French jet deal
The beheadings came a day before Egypt signed a $5.9 billion arms deal to purchase 24
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
warplanes from France, making it the first foreign sale for the French jet. Egypt also bought a
FREMM multipurpose frigate
The FREMM (French: ''Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission''; Italian: ''Fregata Europea Multi-Missione''), which stands for "European multi-purpose frigate", is a Franco-Italian family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Naval Group and Fincanti ...
as well as missiles. The deal is believed by analysts to be an attempt by Sisi to both upgrade Egypt's military hardware and to diversify its suppliers.
Patricia Adam, president of the French parliament's defense committee, said that Egypt needed planes quickly. "You just need to take a look at what's happening at its border. They are especially worried by what's happening in Libya", she said. French defense minister,
Jean-Yves Le Drian
Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Presi ...
, said that the Copts' execution was one of the reasons why the Egyptian government wanted to boost its security.
Events
At 10:30 p.m.
EET
"Eet" is a song from Regina Spektor's fifth studio album, ''Far (album), Far''. It was released as the album's second official single in October 2009. In Europe it was released as a digital download on November 27, 2009.
Music video
A Viral vide ...
, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for an urgent meeting with the country's National Defence Council at the
Ittihadiya Palace. Later, during a midnight speech, he declared that Egypt "reserves the right to respond in the method and timing it deems suitable for retribution from these killers." At 4 a.m., six Egyptian F-16
Block 52 jets, having arrived earlier from
Cairo West Air Base
Cairo West AB is a military airport on the western side of Cairo, Egypt. The air base shares some infrastructure with the adjacent Sphinx International Airport.
Originally a Royal Air Force installation ("Landing Ground 224"), among other unit ...
, took off from
Marsa Matruh Air Base towards their intended targets in eastern Libya.
They later struck several ISIL positions in coordination with the Libyan Air Force. The Egyptian raids were focused on
Derna, while the Libyan jets struck enemy targets in
Sirte
Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...
and
Bin Jawad
Bin Jawad ( ar, بن جواد '), also known as ''Bin Jawwād'', ''Bin Quwad'' is a town with estimated 8,488 inhabitants in the Sirte District in Libya. It is approximately halfway between Benghazi and Misrata. The nearest settlements are Nofa ...
. Egypt's military released a statement saying that the strikes achieved their objective and were carried out "with precision", adding that the planes returned safely to Egyptian military bases. The statement, which was announced at 8 a.m., added that the targeted locations included arms and munition depots, training camps and plantations, as well as a suspected militant hotspot known as Ghabat Bomsafer. Hossam Suweilam, an Egyptian general, told
Al Arabiya
Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC.
The channel is a flag ...
that plans for the operation had already been made in the period that followed the 21 Copts' disappearance, when senior military leaders were considering such strikes as one of the possible outcomes.
Casualties
The first wave of Egyptian airstrikes killed up to 81 ISIL fighters, according to the Libyan military.
Libya's air force chief,
Saqr Geroushi
Saqr Adam Geroushi (Arabic: صقر ادم الجروشي) is a Libyan military officer who is the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Air Force that supports Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army faction. Geroushi was reinstated as the head of th ...
, claimed that 40 to 50 people had been killed.
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
reported that seven civilians were killed during the airstrikes, including three children. The
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
called on the Egyptian and Libyan authorities to carry out an investigation into the civilian casualties resulting from the raids, stating that "any military engagement with ISIS should take all possible steps to spare civilian lives".
Aftermath
Abduction of Egyptians
Local media reports from Libya, which emerged the day the airstrikes were conducted, claimed that 35 more Egyptians, mainly farm workers, have been kidnapped in areas controlled by groups such as
Ansar al-Sharia Ansar al-Sharia or Ansar al-Shariah is a name used by a collection of radical or militant Islamist groups or militias, in at least eight countries. While they share names and ideology, they lack a unified command structure.
*Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen ...
and ISIL. ''
Libya Herald
The ''Libya Herald'' ( ar, ليبيا هيرلد) is an English-language newspaper based in Tripoli, Libya, launched on 17 February 2012.
Creation
The ''Libya Herald'' was launched on 17 February 2012, the first anniversary of the outbreak of the ...
'' reported that seven Egyptians initially went missing, but that the number later rose to thirty-five.
On 20 February, three Egyptian engineers working for a French company in Libya have been kidnapped on their way to
Sabha in the southeast. Egypt's
foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
later confirmed the abduction and said that it contacted Libyan authorities to identify the group behind the incident.
Zintan airstrike
Libya Dawn militias have allegedly attacked an airstrip and another location in the city of
Zintan
Zintan ( ar, الزنتان Latin: Tentheos, Berber language: ''Zintan'' or ''Tigharmin'' or ''Tiɣaṛmin'', meaning "small castles") is one of the biggest cities in north western Libya, situated roughly southwest of Tripoli, in the area. The ...
, which is allied to the Egyptian-backed parliament in
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...
, possibly in response to the Egyptian air raids, forcing the cancellation of a flight scheduled to take off from the city's airport. The plane was carrying Egyptian and Libyan citizens for their safety. A spokesman for the Libya Dawn-backed government in Tripoli said that two or three
MiG
Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
jets, possibly leftovers from Gaddafi's air force, were used in the operation.
Al Qubbah bombings
On 20 February, at least 40 people have been killed in three bomb attacks by ISIL militants in the town of
Al Qubbah
Al Qubbah or El Gubba ( ar, القبة) is a town in eastern Libya. Once capital of Quba District.
It is the largest populated place between Derna, and Bayda.
History
It was named after Giovanni Berta during the Italian colonial times.
Note ...
. The bombs targeted a petrol station, a police station and Libyan MP
Aguila Saleh Issa
Aguila Saleh Issa ( ar, عقيلة صالح عيسى; born January 11, 1944) is a Libyan jurist and politician who is the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives since 5 August 2014. He is also a representative of the town of Al Qubbah, in ...
's residence. It was one of the deadliest attack in Libya since the end of the 2011 civil war. ISIL said that the attacks were carried out in retaliation to the Egyptian raids.
Six Egyptians were identified among the fatalities in the attacks, and their bodies have been repatriated to Egypt via the
Sallum
Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
border crossing.
Reactions
French president
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
and Egypt's Sisi called for a
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
meeting following the airstrikes to discuss the situation in Libya and seek out new security measures against ISIL. Sisi later called for a United Nations resolution allowing for an international intervention in Libya. "There is no other choice, taking into account the agreement of the Libyan people and government and that they call on us to act", he said. However, the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement calling for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya.
Jen Psaki
Jennifer Rene Psaki (; born c. 1978) is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working for ...
, the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
spokeswoman, said in a statement: "We certainly respect the right of countries to make their own decisions about their own self-defence and defence of their own country". However, the Obama administration declined to openly support Egypt's airstrikes. Russia's president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
expressed in a letter to Sisi his country's "readiness for closest cooperation possible in the fight against all aspects of the terrorism threat".
The
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
supported Egypt's bombing of Libya, expressing its "full understanding" of the Egyptian government's position. The body also called for the lifting of an arms embargo on the Libyan national military, which was imposed by the United Nations and the European Union in 2011, during an emergency meeting in Cairo. However, a diplomatic row evolved between Egypt and
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
over the airstrikes. During the Arab League meeting, a Qatari foreign ministry official expressed his government's reservations over unilateral military action by Egypt, adding that this could "give an advantage to one side in Libya's conflict". The tensions culminated with Qatar recalling its ambassador from Cairo for "consultations", and Egypt's envoy to the Arab League, Tareq Adel, accusing Qatar of "supporting terrorism".
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
, honorific-suffix =
, order =
, office = Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain
, term_start = 11 February 2020
, deputy =
, monarch = Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
, primeminister = Salman ...
, Secretary-General of the
Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...
(GCC), allegedly came in Qatar's defense and criticized Egypt's labeling of Qatar as a terrorism sponsor. He described the Egyptian diplomat's remarks as "a false accusation that defies the truth and ignores the sincere efforts that Qatar exerts to fight terrorism and extremism at all levels". Hours later, however, Zayani denied releasing such a statement, which was later removed from the GCC's website, and reiterated his support for the Egyptian government. Bahrain's state media reported that the "false statement attributed to Al Zayani" was due to Qatar's control over the website.
See also
*
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya
The Islamic State is a militant Islamist group active in Libya under three branches: Fezzan Province ( ar, ولاية فزان, ''Wilayah Fizan'') in the desert south, Cyrenaica Province ( ar, ولاية برقة, ''Wilayah Barqah'') in the east, ...
*
Derna campaign (2014–15) Derna may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places
* Derna District, a district in eastern Libya
** Derna, Libya, a port city in that district
** Apostolic Vicariate of Derna, a Catholic pre-diocesan jurisdiction with see in that city
* Derna, Bihor, Romania, a ...
*
Fall of Nofaliya (2015)
The Fall of Nofaliya refers to the takeover of the town of Nofaliya in Sirte District, Libya, by the self-declared Islamic State in February 2015.
Events
On 8 February 2015, a convoy of 40 heavily armed 4WD vehicles drove 140 km from S ...
*
Battle of Sirte (2015)
The Battle of Sirte refers to the battle in the spring of 2015, in the region of Sirte, Libya, between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Libya Shield Force. ISIL forces had been present in the city since February 2015, befo ...
*
Sinai insurgency
The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptian ...
*
Second Libyan Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Second Libyan Civil War
, partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis (2011–present), Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomat ...
*
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
*
Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
The Iranian intervention in Iraq has its roots in the post-2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and allies when the infrastructure of the Iraqi armed forces, as well as intelligence, were disbanded in a process called " de-Ba'athification" ...
*
American-led intervention in Syria
The American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War refers to the American-led support of Syrian rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the course of the Syrian civil war, including Operation Inherent Resolve, the active mil ...
*
List of wars and battles involving ISIL
The following is a list of conflicts involving the jihadist militant group known as the Islamic State (IS/ISIL/ISIS/Daesh), throughout its various incarnations. The group controlled portions of territory in Iraq and Syria in the mid-2010s and ha ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Portal bar, Current events, Libya, Egypt
2015 airstrikes
Military operations involving Egypt
Egypt–Libya military relations
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Egypt
Military operations of the Second Libyan Civil War in 2015
Military operations of the Second Libyan Civil War involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
February 2015 events in Africa