1st LD Writethru: Sisi: Egypt reserves right to respond to killing of Egyptians by IS at proper time

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said early Monday that his country reserves the right to respond at the proper time to the killing of 21 Coptic Egyptians in Libya by Islamic State (IS) group.

In a televised speech, Sisi said Egypt is able to defeat terrorism because "Egypt is defending humanity."

He ordered an ongoing convention of the National Defense Council, urging the government to move swiftly to assist the victims' families.

"We all need to be united to fight terrorism," Sisi said.

The Egyptian president also said that he ordered the government to enforce a travel ban to Libya.

Late on Sunday, Sisi held an urgent meeting of the National Defense Council to discuss the issue of killing 21 Egyptians by IS group in Libya.

Sisi also declared a seven-day period of mourning over the death of the victims.

On Sunday, the IS militant group published a video purportedly showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians abducted in Libya. Later, the Egyptian Orthodox Church confirmed the killing.

"We watched the painful video. We can confirm the slain were our kidnapped sons in Libya," spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, Polis Halim, was quoted by MENA as saying.

The spokesman said the Church is in contact with a number of government institutions to follow up the situation.

The victims, dressed in orange, were lined up near the seashore and forced to knee on the ground.

The Egyptians were abducted in Libya's central city of Sirte on two separate occasions in December and January, only one week apart. Endit