Libyan nurses treat a patient while self-proclaimed pro-Islamist Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi, second from the left in the back, visits fighters wounded in clashes Wednesday west of Tripoli between rival tribes. (Mahmud Turkia, AFP/Getty Images)
BENGHAZI, libya — Egypt deepened its involvement in the fight against Islamist militias who have taken over key parts of Libya on Wednesday, with officials saying Egyptian warplanes have bombed their positions in the eastern city of Benghazi.
The two officials, who have firsthand knowledge of the operation, said the use of the aircraft was part of an Egyptian-led campaign against the militiamen that will eventually involve Libyan ground troops recently trained by Egyptian forces.
The operation, they said, was requested by the internationally recognized Libyan administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk. That elected administration was thrown out of the capital, Tripoli, by rival militias allied with Islamic political factions.
"This is a battle for Egypt not Libya," one of the senior officials said. "Egypt was the first country in the region to warn against terrorism, and it is also the first to fight it."
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the operation would last three to six months and involve the use of an Egyptian navy vessel as a command center off the Mediterranean coast near Tobruk.
Renegade Libyan general Khalifa Hiftar, who has vowed to wipe out the Islamist militias, is not leading the operation, they added, with Cairo dealing directly with a newly appointed Libyan chief of staff who has visited Egypt several times in recent weeks.
In a televised statement on Tuesday, Hifter, who was an army chief under longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy before joining his opponents decades ago, said that he will resign and transfer power to a young army leadership.
Tobruk-based Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni told Dubai-based Sky News Arabia that all troops involved in the battles in Benghazi are under the command of the new chief of staff and are instructed to restore state institutions and combat terrorism.
"After the appointment of the chief of staff for the Libyan army, all military operations are under the umbrella of the state and its military leadership," he said.
Al-Thinni met Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi during his last visit to Egypt on Oct. 9. During the visit, Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Sedki Sobhi said that Egypt is ready to offer "all support" to the Libyan army.
Libyan lawmaker Tareq al-Jorushi confirmed to the AP that Egyptian warplanes were taking part in the ongoing operation in Benghazi but said that they were being flown by Libyan pilots.