The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s massacre of at least 28 Coptic Christians traveling on a bus in Minya, Egypt. The group’s arms in both the Sinai and mainland Egypt have repeatedly targeted Copts. The Egyptian government has retaliated by bombing suspected training camps in Libya.
Islamic State gunmen shot and killed at least one Egyptian policeman near the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the southern Sinai late yesterday. Several others were reportedly wounded. The group’s Sinai “province” is waging a low-grade insurgency against the Egyptian government and claims to have executed scores of attacks this year.
The Islamic State has released a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers who were kidnapped in Libya. The lead fighter in the video seeks to intimidate Italy, saying his organization will conquer Rome. The group is also using the beheadings to portray al Qaeda’s leaders as being soft in their pursuit of jihad.