The New York Times has quoted "four senior American officials" as saying that Egypt and the UAE, despite strong public and official denials, were responsible for the bombing of targets in Tripoli last Monday and again yesterday. If verified, this may resolve one of the stranger mysteries of the past week, rather overshadowed by events in Iraq and Gaza.
Last Monday morning before dawn, at least two combat aircraft attacked targets in Tripoli in Libya, striking at areas controlled by Islamist militias. Libya's Air Force denied responsibility, and experts said he Libyan Air Force lacks night fighting capability and could not have launched the strikes. Libyan government officials blamed a "foreign" Air Force, and the US, Britain, France, Italy, and Egypt all disclaimed responsibility. One problem was that the aircraft, striking before dawn, were not identifiable.
This was further muddled when spokesmen for rebel General Khalifa Haftar claimed responsibility, saying "The Libyan eagles of the air, on board Sukhoi-24 long-range weapon launchers that were brought back into service again, carried out precise and intensified airstrikes early yesterday morning on targets of the so-called 'Libya Dawn' militias," This raised questions since Libya ha only six Su-24s and all were believed shot down or destroyed on the ground in 2011.
Later, however, Jane's reported that Brig. Gen. Saqr Jarushi, a dismissed head of the Libyan Air Force who backs Haftar and commands the base at Binina, clarified "that Su-24s ...
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