The latest installment of horror delivered by the propaganda machine of the so-called Islamic State (IS) confirmed one of the terrorist group’s principal strategies, the evidence of which has been gradually emerging as IS captures territory, seizes hostages and carries out barbaric acts that are promptly disseminated for publicity purposes.
A video released Sunday showed the execution of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians captured by IS members in Libya over the past few months. The Egyptians appear marching single-file on the beach, wearing the familiar orange jumpsuits worn by hostages in previous IS videos, as their captors lead them to their deaths at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea in Tripoli. They are made to kneel, then to lie facedown, after which their IS executioners, dressed in black, decapitate them one after another.
The video is narrated in English, but the message is aimed at various audiences.