Egypt jets destroy vehicles with arms from Libya

The Egyptian air force has destroyed 15 vehicles carrying weapons and ammunition after they illegally crossed into the country from Libya, a military official said on Monday.
In a separate announcement, Egypt said its security forces had killed eight militants who were being trained to attack government and Christian targets, in a shootout in the country’s southern desert.
Army spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai said the armed forces had received “intelligence on a large number of vehicles gathered on the Western border readying to infiltrate” Egypt.
“Our planes took off to survey the area and went into action as soon as the vehicles breached the border,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
“The operation lasted 48 hours with surveillance and air strikes. Five four-wheel-drive vehicles carrying weapons, ammunition and smuggled goods were destroyed,” he said, without mentioning any casualties.
A military official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the vehicles came from chaos-wracked Libya, where rival militias are battling for control and the Islamic State group has a presence.
In the shootout in the south of the country, those killed included Helmi Masri Mohareb, a leader who transported militants across Egypt’s southern border to join training camps, the interior ministry said in a statement.
The statement did not say when or exactly where in the desert they were killed, nor in which country they were alleged to have received training.
The security forces came under heavy fire as they pursued the militants, before shooting back at them, the ministry said.