Video of a terror group in Egypt linked to the Islamic State executing a Coptic Christian and two tribesmen is circulating online – as the Interior Ministry revealed on Monday that it had killed three suspects in the massacres.
Released late on Saturday, the 13-minute video showed 62-year-old Nabil Habashi Salama being shot with an AK-47 in mind in the middle of what appeared to be the Egyptian desert.
Three blurred-faced armed militants stood behind Habashi Salama, who had helped build the area’s only Coptic church when he was murdered.
Shortly afterwards, the same three militants took out two tribesmen, accusing them of fighting with Egyptian forces.
The Coptic Orthodox Church represents between 10 and 15 percent of Egypt’s 100 million inhabitants.
The Christians, along with the Egyptian security forces, were the main target of ISIS attacks.
“As for you Christians of Egypt, this is the price you pay for supporting the Egyptian military,” said one of the militants in the video, after Habashi Salama said his church had partnered with police to fight terrorism. combat.
In a statement released Sunday, a church spokesman confirmed Habashi Salama’s murder and praised him for not giving up his faith.
“He kept the faith until he was murdered,” the church said, adding that it wanted to reaffirm “its steadfast support for the Egyptian state’s efforts to suppress hateful acts of terror.”
Egyptian police said they killed some of the suspects in the video while exchanging gunfire with a group of six Islamic State-affiliated militants in the Abtal area of North Sinai province.
Three of the men were not killed and are still wanted by Egypt.
There were no casualties among the security forces.
With pole wires