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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 14 January 2015:
A group claiming affiliation with the Islamic State in Libya has posted pictures of Egyptian . . .[restrict]Christians which it says it has abducted and is holding prisoner.
The group claims to have 21 Coptic Egyptians seized from various placed in the Tripoli Province, which includes Sirte.
In December 20 Coptic Egyptians were kidnapped in two separate incidents in and around Sirte. It is unclear if the men whose photos have been posted by the Islamic State are the same as that original 20. It is also uncertain if any are from the ten who were abducted last week near Bani Walid.
There has been some confusion about the fate of the 20 abducted last month. At one point early in January it was being claimed that at least some of them had been released. But that report was later refuted. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has since confirmed that the 20 men are still missing in Libya. They are all from Upper Egypt, mostly from a town called Samalout. [/restrict]
