Libya could become new ISIS stronghold, warns terrorism expert

More and more small terrorist groups in Libya are joining the Islamic State, drawn by its success in Iraq and Syria, terror expert Guido Steinberg warns in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

Steinberg argues that, although it seemed at first that these small groups were simply claiming to be IS, it recently became obvious that they have Islamic State contacts that support them.

"That leaves room for us to worry that the IS organization is building an international network, just like al Qaeda did after 2001, and that they're growing stronger because of it," says the terrorism expert.

According to The Telegraph, Islamic State militants are planning a takeover of Libya as a "gateway" to wage war across the whole of southern Europe.

It is reminded that a few days ago, the Islamic State released a video that showed the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. Hours after the release, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that his country would respond to the deaths.

The five-minute video showing the deaths has been confirmed as authentic. It appeared on the Twitter feed of a pro-Islamic State website.