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.
only the poorest of the poor would go there now in libya and them being christian proves that the desperation of these people is something that just simply cannot be fathomed. isis is nothing but an evil and monstrous organization
This a total falsehood ,like the previous incidents and misinformation campaign orchestrated jointly by the Egyptian government and the dissolved Tubork parliament in a desperate attempt to drag foreign powers in the Libyan affair.The Egyptian military Junta desperately needs such events to focus the attention of the Egyptian people away from the miserable state Egypt is in.Many news such this frequently being spread with false information that few days later prove to be outright wrong. Libyans do not use the term Tripoli province at all.Nowadays ,every Tom, Dick and Harry with an agenda put the ISIS label on anything that would advance that agenda,and gain western support even if it did not exist.
Few days ago the exact same story line was employed with another incident with the same lead.
"'Dispute over money'
Muftah Marzuq, head of the council of elders in the coastal city of Sirte, said the men were released after negotiations between the gunmen and local officials.
"The Egyptians were held by a group that deals in illegal people smuggling, because of a dispute involving money and transportation to the Harawa region east of Sirte," the AFP news agency quoted Mr Marzuq as saying.
News of their disappearance emerged when a source close to the government accused Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia of having kidnapped the 13 Christians." http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30684526