Condemning: Pope Francis expressed 'profound sadness' over the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic militants in Libya, saying they had been killed for their faith
Pope
Francis has today condemned the beheading of 21 Coptic Egyptians by
ISIS militants, saying all Christians 'be they Catholics, Orthodox,
Copts or Lutherans' are one faith, proclaiming the murdered men martyrs.
The
Pope unexpectedly went off script following a meeting with a
representative Church of Scotland in the Vatican, making a short speech
in his native Spanish in which he claimed the murdered Egyptians' last
words were 'Jesus help me'.
The
religious leader's unscheduled remarks followed reports by local media
that another 35 Egyptians have been kidnapped in areas of Libya
controlled by local Islamist militants and ISIS.
The
abductions of the Egyptians came after Egypt exacted its revenge on
Islamic State militants today with air strikes which a military chief
claims killed at least 50 people.
Horror: Blood is seen in the Mediterranean Sea. In the video the jihadis say they now plan to 'conquer Rome'. Italy is only 450 miles away
Horror: Released last night, a new video by ISIS showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya
Revenge: Egypt's Defence Ministry released these images of its air strikes today on Islamic State-held targets in Libya
Bombed: The aerial footage was released as the head of Libya's air force Saqr al-Jaroushi said the strikes had killed at least 50 people
The Libyan general told the broadcaster CBC Extra: 'Egypt has the right to defend its children and has struck in (eastern city) Derna'
Pope Francis has today expressed 'profound sadness' at hearing of the brutal murders of the 21 Christian Egyptians.
'Today I read about the execution of those twenty-one or twenty-two Coptic Christians,' ' the Pope said in his native Spanish according to Breitbart. 'Their only words were: "Jesus, help me!"
'They were executed for nothing more than the fact that they were Christian. The blood of our Christian sisters and brothers is testimony that cries out (to us).
Retaliation: Today's air strikes were carried out by warplanes from Egypt together with those from Libya, whose air force chief Saqr al-Jaroushi claimed at least 50 people had been killed
Fighters: A video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, ashows an Egyptian jet landing today after carrying out raids on Islamic State targets in Libya, which has been increasingly unstable
Fightback: An F-16 fighter landing after carrying an airstrike against militants loyal to Islamic State in Derna in eastern Libya, at a military base in an undisclosed location
The Libyan general told the broadcaster CBC Extra: 'Egypt has the right to defend its children and has struck in Derna... the number of those killed is at least 50.'
Mr Jaroushi said there was a 'high level of coordination' between the two countries and added: 'We just want air strikes to hit some of the targets that are out of our reach.' There was no immediate way to verify the number of people killed.
Egypt's strikes in Libya began this morning as the country said it wanted 'retribution' for the barbaric filmed beheading of 21 Coptic Christians.
There were at least seven strikes in Derna in the east of the country, which has become a hotbed of Islamic extremism since Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
It is the first time Egypt has announced military action against Islamist targets in its western neighbour, having previously denied it targeted militants there, and the first time militants connected with the Islamic State terror group have been hit with airstrikes outside Syria and Iraq.
The strikes are in response to a gruesome video, released last night, showing a group of orange jumpsuit-clad Coptic Christians being marched to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea by masked, knife-wielding militants.
The 21 men, who were Egyptian migrant workers kidnapped last month, are then seen being forced onto their knees before they are beheaded simultaneously by the militants standing behind them.
A statement released by the Egyptian military this morning said: 'Your armed forces on Monday carried out focused air strikes in Libya against Daesh camps, places of gathering and training, and weapons depots'.
Daesh is a derogatory Arabic acronym for the Islamic State terror group, commonly referred to as ISIS or ISIL in the West.
Egyptian state television followed up the military statement by showing footage of warplanes it said were taking off to conduct the strikes.
To their deaths: The Christian hostages were seen being marched along the beach before the beheadings
Film: The men were marched along a beach before being forced to kneel and beheaded simultaneously
'Avenging Egyptian blood and retaliating against criminals and killers is a duty we must carry out,' the military said.
The air strikes came hours after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threatened a 'suitable response' to the killings of the Christians who had travelled to Libya seeking work.
Sisi, a former army chief who overthrew the Islamist president and then won elections touting his firm hand, faced a chorus of demands to retaliate after the beheadings.
Libya's air force meanwhile announced it had launched strikes in the eastern city of Darna, which was taken over by an IS affiliate last year.
The Egyptian government declared a seven-day mourning period after the release of the video and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi addressed the nation late Sunday night.
Retaliation: Pictures claiming to be of the air strikes in Libya by Egyptian forces emerged online this morning
Blast: This morning's airstrikes were the first time Egypt announced military action against Islamist targets in its western neighbour
Target: Egypt's ministry of defence said jets had targeted weapons caches and training camps
Destroyed: There were at least seven strikes in Derna in the east of the country, which has become a hotbed of Islamic extremism
Fightback: Libya's air force also launched strikes in the eastern city of Darna (above), which was taken over by an IS affiliate last year
Damage: Images reportedly from the ground show cars and building have been destroyed
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (right) offers condolences to Pope Tawadros II (left) of Alexandria - the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church earlier this morning (pictured in this image and below)
Grief: Egyptian Coptic men mourn for the 21 Coptic Egyptian men murdered by Islamic State militants in Libya
Inconsolable: The men are seen mourning for the 21 Coptic Egyptian men murdered by ISIS on the Libyan beach
Relatives and mourners gather outside a church in al-Aour village in Egypt for the funeral of Coptic Christians who were kidnapped and killed by Islamic extremists in Libya (pictured in this image and below)
Christians gather outside a church in al-Aour village, Minya governorate, Egypt for the funeral of those killed
13 of the 21 Coptic Christians murdered by ISIS were originally from al-Aour village, Minya governorate, Egypt
Libya's embattled parliament, which is locked in a conflict with Islamists, expressed condolences in a statement and called on the world to 'show solidarity with Libya'.
IS militants have been hammered by U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria after taking over swathes of the two countries and the group has active affiliates in Egypt and Libya.
In recent months Libya has seen the worst unrest since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which will complicate any efforts to combat the country's many Islamic extremist groups.
The internationally-recognised government has been confined to the country's far east since Islamist-allied militias seized the capital Tripoli last year, and Islamist politicians have reconstituted a previous government and parliament.
Egypt has strongly backed the government, and U.S. officials have said both Egypt and the United Arab Emirates took part in a series of air strikes targeting Islamist-allied forces last year.
Yesterday, images emerged of ISIS militants publicly executing two alleged spies and mercilessly crucifying another to a road sign in the Syrian city of Al-Bab.
On Thursday, the extremist group announced it was holding an Israeli-Arab who posed as foreign a fighter to spy for the country's intelligence agency, Mossad.
Tears: Family members of some of the 21 Coptic Christians murdered by ISIS militants in Libya weep outside their home in el-Aour village
Anger: This picture and the one below shows Coptic men, whose relatives were abducted by Islamic State militants in the Libyan city of Sirte more than a month ago, protesting at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt
Family members of abducted Coptic Christian Malak Ibrahim sit at home in the village of el-Aour in Egypt
Relatives of murdered Samuel Walham weep in the village of el-Aour in Egypt (this image and below)
