EGYPT Preparing Large Assault Against ISIS In Libya

[Amir_Pharaoh]

EGYPT PREPARING LARGE ASSAULT AGAINST ISIS IN LIBYA DESPITE OPPOSITION FROM OBAMA

Egypt is getting ready to launch a large air and ground attack against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in eastern Libya DebkaFile reports, quoting military and intelligence sources.

The Obama administration is reportedly opposed to the operation.

“Egypt is massing large-scale ground and air forces in the Western Desert along the Libyan border, in preparation for a military campaign to capture eastern Libya — Cyrenaica — from the Islamist State of Syria and Iraq — ISIS — occupation,” reports DebkaFile.

“The substantial naval and marine forces assembling at Egypt’s Mediterranean ports indicate the possible launching of the offensive by dropping Egyptian marines on the Libyan coast around Derna (pop: 100,000), which ISIS has made its provincial capital,” it added. “They may be accompanied by simultaneous landings of paratroops from the air.”

Some officials have warned that ISIS may use Libya to launch attacks against Europe.

The DebkaFile report notes that the Obama administration is against a direct invasion of Libya by Egypt, but would support Cairo taking action through local Libyan militias.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi was not convinced by CIA Director John Brennan who related Obama’s position on April 19.

“President El-Sisi was not surprised to hear from the CIA director that the Obama administration objects to a direct Egyptian invasion of Libya, but would not oppose Cairo acting through local Libyan militias,” said DebkaFile.

“Brennan leaned hard on the Egyptian president to follow Washington’s line, but El-Sisi refused,” it added later.

President El-Sisi did tell the CIA director that he does not plan to keep the Egyptian army in Libya. He is planning to pull his troops out after the jihadists are defeated. Ultimately, El-Sisi said he would hand power back to the elected Libyan government.

ISIS’ presence in eastern Libya and Sinai poses an unacceptable threat to El-Sisi’s country, noted the report.

“He has been warned in a number of intelligence reports that the Islamic State’s terrorists have already penetrated some Egyptian towns and even infiltrated certain army units,” it said.

ISIS is reportedly beefing up its presence in eastern Libya with reinforcements from Syria and Iraq to counter Egypt’s planned assault.

“From Syria, they are traveling by air or sea through the Mediterranean; from Iraq, through the Sinai Peninsula, whence oil and drug rings smuggle them across the Suez Canal and Egypt,” said DebkaFile.

Libya has been engulfed in unrest since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and executed in 2011 with the support of the Obama administration. Various tribes, militias, and political groups are competing for power in Libya.

The country has been split by two warring factions. One is led by the elected government operating out of Tobruk and the other by militias in Tripoli.

The Obama administration and other Western nations have been reluctant to intervene.

Egypt, without the support of the U.S., launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya after the jihadist group beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians.

Source:
Report: Obama Opposes Egypt's Plan to Launch Large Assault Against ISIS in Libya

 

[Amir_Pharaoh]

Large-scale Egyptian army massed for operation to capture eastern Libya from ISIS

The Middle East is on the brink of its fourth war (after Syria, Iraq and Yemen).DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that Egypt is massing large-scale ground and air forces in the Western Desert along the Libyan border, in preparation for a military campaign to capture eastern Libya – Cyrenaica - from the Islamist State of Syria and Iraq – ISIS - occupation.

The substantial naval and marine forces assembling at Egypt’s Mediterranean ports indicate the possible launching of the offensive by dropping Egyptian marines on the Libyan coast around Derna (pop: 100,000), which ISIS has made its provincial capital. They may be accompanied by simultaneous landings of paratroops from the air.
For President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, ISIS’s presence in eastern Libya (as well as Sinai) poses an unacceptable peril to his country. He has been warned in a number of intelligence reports that the Islamic State’s terrorists have already penetrated some Egyptian towns and even infiltrated certain army units.
To counter the Egyptian plan of campaign, ISIS is rushing reinforcements to eastern Libya from Syria and Iraq. From Syria, they are traveling by air or sea through the Mediterranean; from Iraq, through the Sinai Peninsula, whence oil and drug rings smuggle them across the Suez Canal and Egypt.
DEBKAfile’s sources reveal that Egypt’s projected invasion of Libya was high on the agenda of American CIA Director John Brennan’s unannounced visit to Cairo on April 19 for a meeting with the president.
In reply to his visitor’s demand for precise information on Egypt’s Libyan campaign. President El-Sisi offered an assurance that he had no intention of keeping the Egyptian army in Libya. He would pull the troops out after defeating and disarming the jihadis and hand power to the Libyan government, which has established its seat in the eastern town of Tobruk near the Egyptian border and home to Libyan military bases and oil terminals.

The Tobruk government was set up by Libyan members of parliament who fled the capital Tripoli when it was overrun by a group of extremist Islamist militias, known as the Libyan Dawn, which included elements associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – AQIM.

The head of the this government is Abdullah al-Thinni, who is recognized by the United States and most Western governments as the legitimate prime minister of Libya.
President El-Sisi was not surprised to hear from the CIA director that the Obama administration objects to a direct Egyptian invasion of Libya, but would not oppose Cairo acting through local Libyan militias. Brennan put forward the name of Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a Libyan-American, who set up a militia in the eastern Libyan town of Benghazi to fight the Islamists, aided by Libyan army units based in the region.
On March 2, Prime Minister al-Thinni and the Tobruk parliament appointed Gen. Hifter commander-in-chief of the Libyan army, promoting him to the rank of lieutenant general. He was entrusted with two missions: To liberate Libya from the clutches of the Islamic militias and to rebuild the national army.
DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that, for the past six months, the Egyptian president has given Hifter his support and even supplied him with weapons. But he does not see him as a sufficiently powerful and emblematic figure to unify the Libyan nation.
Brennan leaned hard on the Egyptian president to follow Washington’s line, but El-Sisi refused.
Their differences on the Libyan campaign were reflected by omission in the joint communiqué they issued after their conversation: After discussing “regional issues, terrorism and ways of enhancing bilateral relations, the two sides agreed to continue consultation and coordination on issues of mutual interest.”
Interestingly, Egypt is ready to throw ground, sea and air forces into its offensive in Libya, while at the same time abstaining from deploying air or ground power in the Yemeni conflict, although it is a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels.
Egypt is already fighting the Islamic State’s branch in Sinai. It is now gearing up to tackle the Islamist peril on its western border.

Large-scale Egyptian army massed for operation to capture eastern Libya from ISIS

ISIS In Libya Update: Egypt Reportedly Readying Assault On Islamic State Group Positions

Egypt reportedly is preparing a large-scale ground and air assault along the Libyan border to oust the Islamic State group from eastern Libya. DebkaFile, quoting military and intelligence sources, said naval and marine forces are assembling at Egypt's Mediterranean ports for a possible assault on Derna, the militants' provincial capital.

DebkaFile noted the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, represents an unacceptable threat to Egypt, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been warned extremists already have penetrated some Egyptian towns and military units. ISIS fighters are being smuggled through the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt from Syria and Iraq by drug rings, DebkaFile said.

Libya has deteriorated to near-chaos since former strongman Moammar Gadhafi was dragged from a drainage pipe and executed in 2011 following a NATO-led air campaign to oust him. The country has been divided by warring factions -- one led by the legitimate government operating out of Tobruk and the other led by militias operating out of Tripoli. The West has been reluctant to intervene further since terrorists burned the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others in 2012.

ISIS has seized 11 oil fields and is pumping 200,000 barrels a day to fund its operations while Tobruk is running out of money, the Week reported.

The DebkaFile report said CIA Director John Brennan discussed a possible invasion when he visited Cairo April 19 to meet with Sisi. Sisi reportedly said he had no intention of keeping his army in Libya and would pull out after handing power back to the Libyan government. The government was moved to Tobruk from Tripoli after the capital was overrun by extremist militias operating under the banner of Libyan Dawn, including members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

DebkaFile said Brennan told Sisi Washington would prefer if Egypt acted through Libyan militias, urging cooperation with Lt. Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan-American operating out of Benghazi. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni appointed Haftar commander-in-chief of the Libyan army March 2. The report said Egypt has been supplying Haftar with weapons for the last six months.

Haftar said Friday he would not object to outside military action similar to the Saudi-led operation in Yemen, but he needs to be in charge of forces that advance on Tripoli, Sky News Arabic reported. He also criticized U.N. Security Council sanctions for cutting off weapons to the Libyan army. He said if he had such weapons he could stem the flow of refugees to Europe.

Libyan Dawn conducted airstrikes Friday against ISIS in Sirte.


ISIS In Libya Update: Egypt Reportedly Readying Assault On Islamic State Group Positions

 

[SipahSalar]

That's good news depending on who they are supporting. I think they are supporting the military commander instead of the elected leader, am i correct?

 

[moisrar47]

Good to hear, send those dogs to hell!

 

[Amir_Pharaoh]

That's good news depending on who they are supporting. I think they are supporting the military commander instead of the elected leader, am i correct?

Libya: A tale of two governments - Al Jazeera English
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21620285-and-none-control-too-many-chiefs

 

[Kambojaric]

Good to hear. Good luck Egypt

As for Obama's opposition, what a surprise

 

[That Guy]

That's good news depending on who they are supporting. I think they are supporting the military commander instead of the elected leader, am i correct?

Or bad news, if they mess up. The situation can get out of hand, and may play into the hands of ISIS, who could use the opportunity to gain more recruits; This operation could also give more room for AQ to breath and gain territory.

Sisi needs to be careful, and double think his strategy.

 

[Menace2Society]

Egypt making a b-line for the oil in Libya.

 

[Desert Fox]

Large-scale Egyptian army massed for operation to capture eastern Libya from ISIS

The Middle East is on the brink of its fourth war (after Syria, Iraq and Yemen).DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that Egypt is massing large-scale ground and air forces in the Western Desert along the Libyan border, in preparation for a military campaign to capture eastern Libya – Cyrenaica - from the Islamist State of Syria and Iraq – ISIS - occupation.

The substantial naval and marine forces assembling at Egypt’s Mediterranean ports indicate the possible launching of the offensive by dropping Egyptian marines on the Libyan coast around Derna (pop: 100,000), which ISIS has made its provincial capital. They may be accompanied by simultaneous landings of paratroops from the air.
For President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, ISIS’s presence in eastern Libya (as well as Sinai) poses an unacceptable peril to his country. He has been warned in a number of intelligence reports that the Islamic State’s terrorists have already penetrated some Egyptian towns and even infiltrated certain army units.
To counter the Egyptian plan of campaign, ISIS is rushing reinforcements to eastern Libya from Syria and Iraq. From Syria, they are traveling by air or sea through the Mediterranean; from Iraq, through the Sinai Peninsula, whence oil and drug rings smuggle them across the Suez Canal and Egypt.
DEBKAfile’s sources reveal that Egypt’s projected invasion of Libya was high on the agenda of American CIA Director John Brennan’s unannounced visit to Cairo on April 19 for a meeting with the president.
In reply to his visitor’s demand for precise information on Egypt’s Libyan campaign. President El-Sisi offered an assurance that he had no intention of keeping the Egyptian army in Libya. He would pull the troops out after defeating and disarming the jihadis and hand power to the Libyan government, which has established its seat in the eastern town of Tobruk near the Egyptian border and home to Libyan military bases and oil terminals.

The Tobruk government was set up by Libyan members of parliament who fled the capital Tripoli when it was overrun by a group of extremist Islamist militias, known as the Libyan Dawn, which included elements associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – AQIM.

The head of the this government is Abdullah al-Thinni, who is recognized by the United States and most Western governments as the legitimate prime minister of Libya.
President El-Sisi was not surprised to hear from the CIA director that the Obama administration objects to a direct Egyptian invasion of Libya, but would not oppose Cairo acting through local Libyan militias. Brennan put forward the name of Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a Libyan-American, who set up a militia in the eastern Libyan town of Benghazi to fight the Islamists, aided by Libyan army units based in the region.
On March 2, Prime Minister al-Thinni and the Tobruk parliament appointed Gen. Hifter commander-in-chief of the Libyan army, promoting him to the rank of lieutenant general. He was entrusted with two missions: To liberate Libya from the clutches of the Islamic militias and to rebuild the national army.
DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that, for the past six months, the Egyptian president has given Hifter his support and even supplied him with weapons. But he does not see him as a sufficiently powerful and emblematic figure to unify the Libyan nation.
Brennan leaned hard on the Egyptian president to follow Washington’s line, but El-Sisi refused.
Their differences on the Libyan campaign were reflected by omission in the joint communiqué they issued after their conversation: After discussing “regional issues, terrorism and ways of enhancing bilateral relations, the two sides agreed to continue consultation and coordination on issues of mutual interest.”
Interestingly, Egypt is ready to throw ground, sea and air forces into its offensive in Libya, while at the same time abstaining from deploying air or ground power in the Yemeni conflict, although it is a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels.
Egypt is already fighting the Islamic State’s branch in Sinai. It is now gearing up to tackle the Islamist peril on its western border.

Large-scale Egyptian army massed for operation to capture eastern Libya from ISIS

ISIS In Libya Update: Egypt Reportedly Readying Assault On Islamic State Group Positions

Egypt reportedly is preparing a large-scale ground and air assault along the Libyan border to oust the Islamic State group from eastern Libya. DebkaFile, quoting military and intelligence sources, said naval and marine forces are assembling at Egypt's Mediterranean ports for a possible assault on Derna, the militants' provincial capital.

DebkaFile noted the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, represents an unacceptable threat to Egypt, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been warned extremists already have penetrated some Egyptian towns and military units. ISIS fighters are being smuggled through the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt from Syria and Iraq by drug rings, DebkaFile said.

Libya has deteriorated to near-chaos since former strongman Moammar Gadhafi was dragged from a drainage pipe and executed in 2011 following a NATO-led air campaign to oust him. The country has been divided by warring factions -- one led by the legitimate government operating out of Tobruk and the other led by militias operating out of Tripoli. The West has been reluctant to intervene further since terrorists burned the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others in 2012.

ISIS has seized 11 oil fields and is pumping 200,000 barrels a day to fund its operations while Tobruk is running out of money, the Week reported.

The DebkaFile report said CIA Director John Brennan discussed a possible invasion when he visited Cairo April 19 to meet with Sisi. Sisi reportedly said he had no intention of keeping his army in Libya and would pull out after handing power back to the Libyan government. The government was moved to Tobruk from Tripoli after the capital was overrun by extremist militias operating under the banner of Libyan Dawn, including members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

DebkaFile said Brennan told Sisi Washington would prefer if Egypt acted through Libyan militias, urging cooperation with Lt. Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan-American operating out of Benghazi. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni appointed Haftar commander-in-chief of the Libyan army March 2. The report said Egypt has been supplying Haftar with weapons for the last six months.

Haftar said Friday he would not object to outside military action similar to the Saudi-led operation in Yemen, but he needs to be in charge of forces that advance on Tripoli, Sky News Arabic reported. He also criticized U.N. Security Council sanctions for cutting off weapons to the Libyan army. He said if he had such weapons he could stem the flow of refugees to Europe.

Libyan Dawn conducted airstrikes Friday against ISIS in Sirte.


ISIS In Libya Update: Egypt Reportedly Readying Assault On Islamic State Group Positions

Debka file doesn't have a good history for being reliable.

But if this news is true then i think its about time a serious step be taken against stamping out terrorism in that region.