Egypt Airstrikes Islamic State in Libya After Beheading Video

Egypt's government announced this week that it has bombed the Islamic State after the terrorist group released a video purportedly showing the beheading of Egyptian Christians, also known as Copts.

Libyan officials confirmed that the Egypt-led airstrikes targeted Islamic State camps in the Libyan city of Derna, held by the Islamic State. The North African country decided to conduct the strikes after Libyan Islamic State sympathizers uploaded a video to social media showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

"Eight strikes have been conducted so far [in Derna]. The plan is to target all IS locations in the country wherever they are," Libyan government spokesperson Mohamed Azazza told BBC News.

Egypt has also confirmed the airstrikes, saying in a statement Monday morning that the attacks targeted training camps and arms depots held by the terrorist group.

"Egypt preserves the right to respond, with the appropriate manner and timing, in order to carry out retribution on those killers and criminals who are stripped of the most basic of human values," President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt said in a statement to the New York Times.

The recent beheading video released by the terror group proves to be the first Islamic State-affiliated video released outside of the group's main territory of Syria and Iraq.

Libyan Air Force Commander Saqer al-Joroushi confirmed to Egyptian television that 40 to 50 Islamic State militants were killed in the recent airstrike.

 "There are casualties among individuals, ammunition and the (Islamic State) communication centers," al-Joroushi said, as reported by Reuters.