Egypt to continue Libya airstrikes after Coptic Christian massacre

Egypt's military said Monday that it plans to press ahead with military operations against terrorist training camps in Libya after the Islamic State slayed 29 Coptic Christians last week.

Egypt first launched air raids on extremist training camps in Libya late Friday after an attack earlier in the day on Egyptian Christians near Minya, in the country's south.

Warplanes continued pounding the Libyan city of Derna on Monday, with witnesses telling Reuters that one attack hit the western entrance to Derna and another two hit Dahr al-Hamar in the south.

Egyptian military spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Refaei said that anyone plotting terrorist activities in the country would be targeted by the military.

"We have not announced the cessation of military operations against terrorist training camps," he told the Ahram newspaper.

"Anyone sponsoring terrorism will be punished no matter where they are."

The airstrikes are being carried out as part of joint operations between the Libyan National Army led by strongman Khalifa Haftar and Egypt, a spokesman for the Egypt-allied LNA said Monday.

A Libyan operational commander Brigadier, Abdulsalam Al-Hasi, told Reuters the strikes targeted Majlis Mujahideen Derna and Abu Salim brigade, two local Libyan groups allied with al-Qaeda.

Egyptian state-owned newspaper Akhbar said the two men responsible for the Minya massacre had also been involved in deadly church bombings on Palm Sunday in Alexandria and Tanta.

The newspaper said they had been helped by IS-linked militants in Libya.

Egypt has carried out a number of airstrikes on its neighbour since Libya descended into factional fighting in the years following the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

In February 2015, Egypt carried out air raids against IS in neighbouring Libya after a graphic video was released showing the beheading there of 21 Christians, almost all Copts.