February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya

Part of the Military intervention against ISIL and
the Second Libyan Civil War

Date	16 February 2015
Location	Libya

Belligerents

Egypt

Libya

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Commanders and leaders

Abu Nabil Al Anbari
(ISIL commander of North Africa)

Muhammand Abdullah
(Top ISIL Judge in Derna)

Abdullah Al-Libi

Ali Al Qarqaa
(ISIL Emir of Nofaliya)

Units involved

Wilayat Barqa

Strength

Six F-16 jets

1,000–3,000 (Feb. 2015 estimate)

Casualties and losses

None reported

81 killed and 55 captured

7 civilians killed
35 Egyptian citizens allegedly kidnapped

Note: 40+ civilians were killed as a result of the retaliatory Al Qubbah bombings by ISIL. Six Egyptian civilians were among the fatalities.

Military of ISIL

The February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in Libya took place on February 16, 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 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. 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.

In 2011, a NATO-backed uprising toppled Libya's longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, 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-backed president Mohamed Morsi. There have been numerous attacks on Egypt's trade interests in Libya which were rampant prior to Gen. Khalifa Haftar's Operation Dignity 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.

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Wikipedia