The Air Force on Tuesday airlifted 175 Egyptians home from Djerba, Tunisia, to Cairo aboard C-130Js assigned to Ramstein AB, Germany. With these flights, Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft have now returned more than 1,100 Egyptians to Cairo at the request of the Egyptian government since March 5, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman. The Egyptians had been in Libya and fled to Tunisia when the violent political unrest broke out last month between groups seeking to end the reign of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and forces loyal to him. The C-130Js are staging out of NAS Souda Bay, Crete, for the refugee flights. (AFPS report by Lisa Daniel)
U.S. aircraft, drones, and attack helicopters have launched significant airstrikes in recent days against Islamic State militants in Syria as part of the renewed air campaign against remnants of the group, U.S. officials said.
