Libya

The Greek foreign ministry condemned on Monday the coldblooded execution of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya by Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State released a video on Sunday that showed the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. Hours after the release, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that his country would respond to the deaths.

The five-minute video showing the deaths has been confirmed as authentic. It appeared on the Twitter feed of a pro-Islamic State website.

A total of 2,164 refugees coming from Libya who attempted to cross the Mediterranean by boats have been rescued close to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Several lives were lost and the cause has largely been hypothermia. Since the beginning of the year, 300 people have drowned attempting to cross the sea through the smuggling scheme. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday, in a post on the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) Twitter account, has firmly condemned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) having executed 21 Christian Egyptians, in Libya.

Photo credit: (c) SIMION MECHNO / AGERPRES PHOTO

'We voice our solidarity with Egypt in the fight against terror,' Aurescu added.

Egypt launches air strikes in response to execution of Copts

CAIRO -- The Egyptian Air Force overnight attacked multiple targets of the Islamic State in Libya in response to the killing of 21 Egyptian Copts.

Egyptian authorities said in a statement this morning that the attacks targeted IS camps, training grounds and weapons storage facilities in Derna, Libya.

The Italian coastguard launched a massive operation on Feb. 15 to rescue more than 2,000 migrants in difficulty between the Italian island of Lampedusa and the Libyan coast, local media said.
      

By Nikos Chrysoloras

As Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras focuses on the economic arguments for a new bailout deal for Greece, the country?s strategic importance to the European Union may do as much to persuade Germany to grant him concessions.

Egypt launched air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Libya in response to a video purporting to show the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians.

The air strikes, which were carried several hours after the release of the video, targeted training sites, camps and weapon storage areas, the BBC reports.

Egypt carried out air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in Libya on Feb.16 after the jihadists posted a video showing the decapitation of 21 Coptic Christians, the military said.
      

Some 300 migrants are believed to have died after a total of four smugglers’ vessels — described a rubber dinghies — overturned in rough waters in a sea region surrounding the central Mediterranean isle of Lampedusa.

UNHCR has confirmed the deaths of 232 people.