Cairo - Egypt is training Libyan forces with a view to "safeguarding the country's security and stability", Khaled al-Bakly, secretary-general of Egypt's National Security Council, said Wednesday. Al-Bakly made the assertion in an interview -- the first of its kind since his appointment in 2014 -- with Egypt's private Watan newspaper. He also denied Egyptian involvement in recent bombing campaigns against IS targets in Libya. "The Libyan air force is doing this," he said. "They are the only ones with the authority to do so." He went on to say that Egypt was providing military training to "patriotic Libyan forces" with a view to "safeguarding the country's security and stability, which is closely linked to Egypt's national security". In early 2015, Egypt's military carried out a series of airstrikes against IS targets in Libya following the group's execution of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians.
