Libyan Foreign Minister Flees to Türkiye

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
TT

Libyan Foreign Minister Flees to Türkiye

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA

 

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush left Libya and flew to Türkiye on a government plane with the assistance of the Internal Security Agency (ISA), Israel's Ynet said citing sources.

However, ISA denied alleged reports regarding permitting or facilitating her escape, stressing that she did not pass through the official channels at Mitiga Airport.

Mangoush was suspended from her post on Sunday and was referred for investigation after Israel said its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had met her last week despite the countries not having formal relations.

Libya's Foreign Ministry said Mangoush had rejected a meeting with representatives of Israel and that what had occurred was "an unprepared, casual encounter during a meeting at Italy's Foreign Affairs Ministry."

"I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations," Israel's Cohen said in a statement.

Cohen said he had spoken to Mangoush about the importance of preserving Jewish heritage in Libya.



US Military Strikes Iranian-Backed Militia Targets in Syria

The US has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against ISIS militants. (Reuters file)
The US has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against ISIS militants. (Reuters file)
TT

US Military Strikes Iranian-Backed Militia Targets in Syria

The US has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against ISIS militants. (Reuters file)
The US has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against ISIS militants. (Reuters file)

The US struck nine targets at two locations in Syria Monday to hit Iranian-aligned militias that had launched attacks on US personnel over the last 24 hours, US Central Command said.

No US personnel were injured in the attacks, but as of late Monday the Pentagon did not provide further details on what US sites in Syria had been attacked or what sites the US struck in return.

The US has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against ISIS militants. In February it launched a massive attack on Iranian-backed militia sites in Syria in response to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service members.

Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, and Israel's large-scale response in Gaza, Iran-backed fighters who are loosely allied with Hamas have carried out drone and rocket attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria.