Islamic State: Egyptian Christians held in Libya
'killed'
Egyptians had protested earlier this
week calling for the return of the kidnapped Copts
A video has emerged purportedly
showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped by
Islamic State (IS) in Libya.
The footage shows a group wearing
orange overalls, being forced to the ground and then decapitated.
It was posted online by Libyan
jihadists who say they are allied with IS.
Egypt's president had earlier this
week offered to airlift Egyptian expatriates out of Libyan territory.
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all
Coptic Christians, were seized from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya,
now under the control of Islamist groups.
On Friday, IS released pictures of
the Egyptians, saying they had been kidnapped to avenge the fate of Muslim
women "tortured and murdered by the Coptic church of Egypt".
Egypt's government has warned people
not to travel to Libya, but many go there looking for work.
There had been demonstrations in
Egypt calling on the government to do more to secure the release of those held.
Estimates as to the number of Copts
living in Egypt today range from about nine million to 15 million out of a
total population of about 87 million.
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