Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna yesterday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people.
The Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of IS strikes that have killed more than 100 Copts in Egypt since December.
Haftar's forces carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt in Derna, the air force said in a statement carried by the LANA news agency loyal to Libya's eastern administration.
"The operation was a success and the losses of the Al- Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment," the statement said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), opposed by Haftar, denounced the raids as a violation of its sovereignty.
"Whatever the pretext, we reject any action that undermines the sovereignty of our country. There is no justification for the violation of the territory of other countries," a GNA statement said.
Derna was known for being a bastion of extremists even before the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libya's longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
In 2014, some jihadists defected to join IS, which took control of Derna.
Pro-Al-Qaeda elements opposed to IS banded together to form Majlis Mujahedeen Derna to fight both the group and Haftar's forces, in 2015 expelling the jihadists from the city.
Haftar's forces regularly carry out air raids on positions of the pro-Al-Qaeda alliance.
Libya's Islamists accuse Haftar allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of taking part in these strikes.
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