Islamic State releases video of 30 executions in Libya

Islamic State has released a video purporting to show its militants shooting and beheading what appeared to be about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

The authenticity of the video could not be verified, but the killings were similar to past violence carried out by Islamic State, which has expanded its reach from strongholds in Iraq and Syria to Libya.

The video portrayed Christians as crusaders out to kill Muslims, before showing the beheading of about 15 men on a beach and another group of the same size being shot in their heads in scrubland.

Air strikes

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered air strikes on Islamic State targets in Libya in February after the group posted a video of militants beheading 21 Egyptian Christians.

In the latest video, posted on websites supporting Islamic State, a man dressed in black clutching a pistol stood behind some of the victims.

“Muslim blood shed under the hands of your religions is not cheap,” the man says, looking at the camera. “To the nation of the cross we are now back again.”

Reuters