Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for a United Nations resolution allowing international forces to intervene in Libya.

There was no other choice, he told French radio. "We will not allow them to cut off the heads of our children."

Egyptian jets bombed IS targets on Monday in response to a militant video of the apparent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians.

Rival militias have been battling for control in Libya since 2011.

The country has two rival governments - one based in Tripoli, the other in Tobruk.

Mr Sisi called for weapons to be made available to Libya's internationally recognised government, which fled to Tobruk after rival militias seized power in the capital.

In another development, the UN Security Council is to hold an emergency session on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will also hold bilateral meetings in New York with Security Council members and representatives of Arab states, according to AFP news agency.

President Sisi told Europe 1 radio that "we abandoned the Libyan people as prisoners to extremist militias."

He was referring to the aftermath of the 2011 war in which Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled with the help of an international coalition - an intervention he described as "an unfinished mission".

Asked if he would order Egypt's air force to strike again, he said: "We need to do it again, all of us together."

Egypt signed a €5.2bn (£3.8bn) defence deal with France on Monday which includes the purchase of 24 advanced fighter jets.

Egyptian state TV said Monday's air strikes had targeted Islamic State camps, training sites and weapon storage areas near the city of Derna.

Military sources said the strikes would continue but there was no need for ground troops at present.

The attacks came hours after a video emerged on Sunday showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them.

The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in separate incidents in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, which is under the control of Islamist groups.

BBC