IS beheads 21 Egyptian Christians

The Islamic State (IS) released a video yesterday that appears to show the mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, on a beach identified as near the Libyan capital.

Egyptian hostages kneel on the beach before being beheaded by IS militants. Photo: Aljazeera

According to the New York Times, the video opens with slow-motion footage of Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages walking in a single file along a beach. All of the hostages are dressed in orange jumpsuits. Each is led away by an executioner dressed in black, holding a knife. The only sound is the sound of the waves. They are forced to their knees and, one by one, are beheaded.

The video appeared on a pro-IS website yesterday. According to Aljazeera, the clip claims the execution was directed at the “hostile Egyptian Church”. An English-speaking militant said the beheading was in revenge for “the execution of Muslim women by the Coptic Crusaders in Egypt”. IS said the execution took place near the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The Egyptian government and the Coptic Church in Egypt both said the video was authentic. MENA news agency quoted a spokesman for the Coptic Church in Egypt as confirming that 21 Coptic Christians held by IS had died.

The Egyptian government declared seven days of mourning, and President Fattah al-Sisi addressed the nation late last night, according to AP. Egypt also banned its citizens from traveling to Libya.

"These cowardly acts will not erode our resolve," Mr Sisi said. "Egypt and the world are in a fierce battle against extremist groups with extremist ideologies and shared goals."

This is the first time IS has released an official video showing killings outside the territories it controls in Syria and Iraq.

At least 20 Egyptian workers were abducted from the eastern Libyan coastal town of Sirte earlier this year. IS militants held them for weeks and threatened to kill the hostages. Families of the kidnapped workers had previously urged Cairo to help free them. In Egypt’s southern Minya province, relatives screamed and fainted when they heard the news of their deaths.

Despite the dangers, thousands of Egyptians have traveled to neighboring Libya to find work since the 2011 uprising in their homeland.

According to VNE