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New ISIS Video Purports To Show Shooting, Beheading Of Christians

The self-declared Islamic State has released a new video purporting to show its followers shooting or beheading some 30 Ethiopian Christians in two separate locations in Libya, as a masked man dressed in black issues a stark warning to the West.

Reuters says of the video, reported by the , that it "portrays Christians as crusaders out to kill Muslims and then showed about 15 men beheaded on a beach and another group of the same size shot in their heads in scrubland."

According to Reuters:

"In the latest video, posted on websites supporting IS that are seen as official, a man dressed in black clutching a pistol stood behind some of the victims.

"'Muslim blood shed under the hands of your religions is not cheap,' he says, looking at the camera. "To the nation of the cross we are now back again.'"

The Associated Press adds.

"It was not immediately clear who the captives were or when they were captured. It was also not clear how many captives were killed.

"The video bore the official logo of the IS media arm Al-Furqan and resembled previous videos released by the extremist group, including one in February in which IS militants in Libya beheaded 21 captured Egyptian Christians on a beach."

Update at 2 p.m. ET. Ethiopia Can't Confirm Victims:

Speaking to Reuters, Ethiopian government spokesman Redwan Hussein says: "We have seen the video but our embassy in Cairo has not been able to confirm that the victims are Ethiopian nationals," adding Addis Ababa nonetheless "condemns the atrocious act."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.