DEBKA - Isreali military and intelligence sources – published Monday a report on Egypt massing a large-scale ground and air forces in the Western Desert of the Libyan border, to capture "Cyrenaica" from ISIS militants. DEBKAfile reported. The report said that naval and marine forces are assembling at Egypt's Mediterranean ports, indicating a possible assault on Derna, the militants' provincial capital, by dropping Egyptian marines on the Libyan coast around Derna, and may be accompanied by simultaneous landings of paratroops from the air. Report indicates that a number of intelligence reports warned President Al Sisi that IS militants penetrated some Egyptian towns, which is an unacceptable peril to the country. ISIS in return, is calling for reinforcement from Syria and Iraq, where militants are being smuggled through the Mediterranean Sea or Sinai Peninsula. Egypt's projected invasion of Libya was on the agenda of CIA Director John Brennan's upon his visit to Cairo on April 19 to meet the president. Debkafile's sources reveal that president Al Sisi assured of pulling the troops out of Libya after defeating ISIS and giving power to the legitimate government. Libyan government led by Abdullah Al Thinni have established its base in eastern town of Tobruk near the Egyptian borders, where Libyan military bases and oil terminals are located. Tobruk was set up by Libyan members of parliament who fled the capital Tripoli after the "Libyan Dawn", Al Qaeda affiliated militants, overran it. As per the CIA, Obama administration objected the direct invasion of Egypt in Libya, but did not oppose the idea. They even recommended the Name of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan-American, who set up a militia in Benghazi to fight the Islamists. Report added, he was appointed on March 2 as commander-in-chief of the Libyan army by Prime Minister Al Thinni and the Tobruk parliament. Haftar was entrusted with two missions: To liberate Libya from the control of the Islamic militias and to rebuild the national army. Egyptian President gave full support and arms to Haftar, though he does not see him as a sufficiently powerful and emblematic figure to unify the Libyan nation, Report added. The report states that CIA director Brennan pressured hard on the Egyptian president to follow Washington's lead, but Al Sisi refused. Their differences on the Libyan campaign reflected in the joint communiqué they issued after their conversation, where they discussed "regional issues, terrorism and ways of enhancing bilateral relations, the two sides agreed to continue consultation and coordination on issues of mutual interest." The report indicated that Egypt is ready to throw ground, sea and air forces into its offensive in Libya, while at the same time abstaining from deploying air or ground power in the Yemeni conflict, although it is a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels. "Egypt is already fighting the Islamic State's branch in Sinai. It is now gearing up to tackle the Islamist peril on its western border." Report concluded.
