President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi met Monday with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark at Al-Abbasiyya cathedral to extend his condolences for the deaths of 21 Egyptian Christians killed in Libya by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group. Pope Tawadros welcomed the president at the Cathedral during a ceremony dedicated to the Egyptian victims, thanking him for his concern over people's lives. President stressed during the meeting that he was "Responsible for avenging their deaths". Al Azhar also sent its condolences to Pope Tawadros II and denounced the killing of the Copts, describing the killing as an "ugly criminal act" and expressing its deep grief and sorrow. Al Azhar stressed on the fact that this "barbaric and savage act" doesn't fall within the context of Islamic religion nor any other religion, in addition to being "inhuman". IS released a video of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya who were kidnapped in two separate operations in Sirte. Egyptian armed forces have conducted air raids targeting IS' sites in Libya in retaliation for the mass killings.
