Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has declared a seven-day period of national mourning in response to the latest barbarity by Daesh, or ISIS – the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorist organization. Egypt’s leader also convened the National Defense Council.
A spokesperson for Egypt’s Coptic Church also has confirmed the murders of the young men, all of whom were beheaded by the terror group.
According to Egypt’s official state news agency, Daesh released a video on Sunday showing the execution of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who were kidnapped months ago in Libya.
All were men dressed in the now-traditional orange prisoner jumpsuit, marched out to the shoreline and then lined up on their knees on the sand. They were executed at a beach that the video named as, “Wilayat Tarabulus by the Mediterranean Sea.”
Behind each captive was a black-masked executioner with a knife. After a brief statement by the Daesh leader, all were beheaded simultaneously.
The video, slickly produced, was entitled “A Message Signed With Blood to the nation of the cross.” It was released by Al Hayat Media Center, the media outlet for Daesh, and appeared on the Twitter feed on a pro-Daesh website.
El-Sisi called on Egyptian Copts to “come home,” saying their return to Egypt is the only way to ensure their protection from radical Islamist terrorism.
A separate video posted by the group earlier purported to show 17 captive Kurdish fighters in cages paraded through the streets of Iraq, most likely as a prelude to a flaming execution similar to that of Jordanian fighter pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh.
Daesh has also reportedly publicly executed two alleged “spies” and a third man was crucified to a post with a sign hanging around his neck in the Syrian city of Al-Bab. Photos of the executions emerged Sunday on the Internet and were posted in a report by the British Daily Mail newspaper.