The ISIS faction operating in northeastern Libya is claimed to have captured 21 Christians recently. The official statement from the group labeled the captives “Christian crusaders.”
The nationality of the captives is unclear so far, but Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement claiming 20 Egyptians had been abducted in a pair of separate incidents in Libya, so it is speculated they are among the held.
The two stories are tied together by previous, unconfirmed reports of a number of Egyptian Coptic Christians having been captured in the city of Sirte in recent weeks. The ISIS statement claimed they were taken in Tripoli Province, which includes Sirte.
The ISIS faction in Libya is centered far to the east of Sirte, but has tried to expand its operations nationwide since pledging allegiance to the Syria-based caliphate back in October.
