Video purports to show Islamic State militants in Libya beheading Christian hostages

CAIRO, Egypt -- A video released by militants in Libya claiming loyalty to the Islamic State group purports to show the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages.

The video, released late Sunday night, shows several men in orange jumpsuits being led along a beach, each accompanied by a masked militant. The men are made to kneel and one militant addresses the camera in English before the men are simultaneously beheaded.

The makers of the video identify themselves as the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State group - the Islamic militant group that controls about a third of Syria and Iraq. Militants in Libya claiming affiliation with the Islamic State group had been holding 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians hostage for weeks.

The Associated Press could not immediately independently verify the video.

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