Coffins containing the remains of the bodies of Egyptian Copts killed by Islamic State militants in Sirte are loaded to the plane to be transferred to Egypt, in Misrata, Libya May 14, 2018 (Photo: Reuters)
The bodies of 20 Egyptian Christians who were excuted in 2015 by the Islamic State group in the Libyan city of Sirte were flown back to Egypt on Monday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
According to Al-Ahram, 22 ambulances arrived at Cairo International Airport to transfer the remains, which were flown from Libya by private plane, to Zeinhom Morgue.
The morgue will then identify the remains through DNA samples taken from the victims' families.
In February 2015 a video was released showing Islamic State group members in Libya beheading the 20 Coptic expatriate workers, most of whom were from Samalut city in Minya.
Another victim, reportedly from Ghana, was killed in the video alongside the Egyptians.
The Egyptians’ bodies were discovered in October 2017.
A day after the video's release, Egypt launched airstrikes on Islamic State group hideouts in the Libyan cities of Derna and Sirte in coordination with the Libyan army.
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