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Islamic militants in Libya on Sunday night released a video showing the beheading of a group of Egyptians believed to be some or all of the 21 Coptic Christians seized from the Liyan city of Sirte by the ISIS militants in December and January.
The video shows knife-wielding militants who led the captives on to a beach and made them kneel while the lips of some of the men were seen saying prayers. they were then forced to lie facedown in the sand, while the executioners reach down to slit their throats simultaneously.
In the video, a militant wearing camouflage and a light-brown mask spoke with North American-accented English.
His words:”All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together. The sea you have hidden Sheikh Usama Bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. has condemned the mass murder, describing it act as “despicable and cowardly” and offered condolences to the families of the 21 victims, as well as support to the Egyptian government.
A statement by White House on Sunday night said: “This wanton killing of innocents is just the most recent of the many vicious acts perpetrated by ISIL-affiliated terrorists against the people of the region, including the murders of dozens of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai, which only further galvanizes the international community to unite against ISIL”.
ISIL is another acronym for the Islamic State