Egypt bombs ISIS in revenge for beheadings

CAIRO -- Egypt sent warplanes over the border to bomb ISIS targets in Libya on Monday in revenge for a savage attack on Egyptian Christians.

It was still dark when the F-16 fighter jets took off, striking training camps and weapons depots along Libya's coast. One of the targets was Derna - headquarters for many Islamic militants who have sworn allegiance to ISIS.

The bombings came a day after ISIS released a video that appears to show the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians. Masked jihadis are seen marching the captives along a beach, a few whisper their final prayers and then all are beheaded.

Most of the victims came from the Christian village of el-Aour, south of Cairo. On Monday relatives sobbed and shouted in grief. One father begged for the return of his son's body. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al Sisi visited Cairo's main cathedral to offer his condolences and condemned what he called "a heinous act of terrorism."

The slain were kidnapped last month by militants in Libya. They were among the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who travel there looking for work in the oil fields.

If the video is confirmed, this will be the first time that ISIS has killed foreigners outside Syria and Iraq. And it raises concerns that ISIS may be forging new links to militias in Libya. The kidnapping also means that Egypt is now fighting ISIS on two fronts: to the west in Libya and in the east in the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt has dispatched its foreign minister to New York where they're hoping to rally as much international support as they can for this military intervention in Libya. In the meantime, extra security is being deployed in Egypt in fear of reprisal attacks.