Egypt: Air force carries out airstrikes in Libya near border June 27

Event

The Egyptian Air Force carried out airstrikes in Libya near the Egyptian border on Tuesday, June 27, targeting 12 vehicles loaded with arms, ammunition, and explosive materials. The vehicles were attempting to cross the Libyan border into Egypt at an unspecified location before they were destroyed.

Context

This is not the first time the Egyptian army has intervened near the Libyan border, where terrorist and criminal groups are active. Egypt launched retaliatory airstrikes in Libya to target military training camps and terrorist positions after the April-May 2017 terrorist attacks in Egypt. A bus carrying Coptic Christians was attacked by Islamic State (IS) gunmen near the city of Minya in Egypt around noon (local time) on May 26 (23 killed), and followed IS attacks on churches in Alexandria and Tanta (44 killed) on April 9.

Advice

Due to the prevailing threat of terrorism, individuals throughout Egypt should report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and always be on guard when visiting sites deemed particularly vulnerable to an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). Many governments advise against travel to northern Sinai, where authorities maintain a media blackout and special security zones amid the ongoing anti-terrorist campaign.