Video Purports To Show ISIL Militants Beheading Egyptian Hostages

Coptic Christian men whose relatives were abducted in Libya hold their photos in front of the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Masked gunmen kidnapped 21 Coptic Christians last month in the ce... Coptic Christian men whose relatives were abducted in Libya hold their photos in front of the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Masked gunmen kidnapped 21 Coptic Christians last month in the central Libyan city of Sirte in a new wave of assaults against Egypt's Christians working in the war-torn North African nation plagued with Islamic extremists. A Libyan affiliate of the Islamic State has claimed the abduction of 21 Coptic Christians and released pictures of the captives. The claim and photos were posted last week on jihadi forums used by Islamic State supporters. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) MORE LESS
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CAIRO (AP) — A video released by militants in Libya claiming loyalty to the Islamic State group purports to show the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages.

The video, released late Sunday night, shows several men in orange jumpsuits being led along a beach, each accompanied by a masked militant. The men are made to kneel and one militant addresses the camera in English before the men are simultaneously beheaded.

The makers of the video identify themselves as the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State group — the Islamic militant group that controls about a third of Syria and Iraq. Militants in Libya claiming affiliation with the Islamic State group had been holding 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians hostage for weeks.

The Associated Press could not immediately independently verify the video.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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