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Pope Francis Condemns ISIS Killing of Coptic Christians

VATICAN-MASS-POPE-CARDINALS
Andreas Solaro—AFP/Getty Images Pope Francis leads a mass on February 15, 2015 at St. Peter's basilica in Vatican.

'The blood of our Christian brothers is a witness that cries out'

Pope Francis on Monday condemned the killing of 21 Coptic Christians hostages in Libya by militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), according to a Vatican Radio report.

“The blood of our Christian brothers is a witness that cries out,” he told a delegation from Scotland on Monday. “If they are Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it is not important: They are Christians. The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ.”

Read More: Beheading of Coptic Christians in Libya Shows ISIS Branching Out

The hostages, believed to be laborers from Egypt, are now “martyrs,” Francis said.

The Libyan extremist group, which swears fealty to ISIS, released a five-minute video Sunday showing militants with knives killing 21 people wearing orange jumpsuits on a beach.

Egyptian authorities confirmed the authenticity of the video, and President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi launched air strikes against targets in Libya hours after vowing to avenge the deaths.

See Egyptian Coptic Christians Mourn Brothers Slain by ISIS

A relative of one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly killed by ISIS militants in Libya reacts after hearing the news on Feb. 16, 2015 in the village of Al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya. EGYPT-LIBYA-UNREST-CHRISTIANS-IS Men mourn over the Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, at the Virgin Mary church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 135 miles south of Cairo, Feb. 16, 2015. Egyptian Coptic men mourn for 21 Coptic Egyptian men seized by Islamic State militants in the central city of Sirte, Libya, more than a month ago at the Virgin Mary Church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 135 miles south of Cairo, Feb. 16, 2015. Men mourn over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, inside of the Virgin Mary Church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 135 miles south of Cairo, Feb. 16, 2015. A Coptic man kisses a prayer banner, which is hung on a cross, as neighbors and friends of the relatives of Egyptian Coptic men who were killed in Libya stand at the courtyard of a church before attending a mass in El-Our village, in Minya governorate, south of Cairo, Feb. 16, 2015. Egyptian Coptic Christians attend a memorial ceremony for relatives purportedly murdered by ISIS militants in Libya, on Feb. 16, 2015, in the village of al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya. Men mourn over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with ISIS, inside the Virgin Mary Church in the village of Al-Aour, Egypt, Feb. 16, 2015. A Coptic clergyman shows a picture of a man whom he says is one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly murdered by ISIS group militants in Libya, on Feb. 16, 2015, during a memorial ceremony in the village of al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya.
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