CAIRO
Egypt seeks to form an international coalition to participate in strikes against Libya's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group, an Egyptian diplomat has said.
"Egypt continues to hold talks to form a coalition to stage strikes against ISIL," the diplomat, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency.
He, however, declined to provide further details about the nature of these talks.
The diplomat said that the potential coalition would likely include France; Italy; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The diplomat, meanwhile, said Egypt also held talks with Russia with the aim of getting Russian support for Egyptian military operations in Libya.
"The Russian side welcomed the Egyptian reaction," the diplomat said, adding that the Russians had described Egypt's reactions to the recent beheading of 21 of its citizens in Libya as "bold."
According to the diplomat, Russia was ready to offer all types of support for Egypt.
The Egyptian army launched airstrikes against ISIL targets in eastern Libya early on Monday, hours after a video appeared to show the execution by the militant group of 21 Egyptian Christians who travelled to restive Libya for work.
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