Egypt president says militants from Iraq, Syria headed to Libya

Egypt’s president said the defeat of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria was likely to have forced militants to seek a safe haven in neighboring Libya. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi warned they could later cross into his country where security forces have been battling militants in the Sinai Peninsula and, more recently, in Egypt’s vast western desert. Al-Sisi said Egypt’s ongoing arms buildup was designed in part to equip the country to deal with terrorism, AP reports. He cited the “strategic imbalance” created by conflict and turmoil engulfing Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen. “We must have the military capabilities that compensate for that imbalance in the region and to counter terrorism,” he added.