Egyptian Coptic Teen Seized in Libya Found Dead

Several Coptic Christian Egyptians have been killed in Libya in recent years

AFP, Benghazi
Friday, 26 December 2014

An Egyptian Coptic Christian teenager abducted in Libya by armed men who killed her parents has been found dead, a hospital source said Friday.

Residents found the body of the daughter of the two slain doctors on Thursday evening, said the source at the Ibn Sina hospital in the city of Sirte, without giving the cause of death.

She said the girl was 13 years old. Initial reports had given her age as 18.

After murdering her parents in their home on Tuesday, the attackers took the girl but left behind two sisters, local council chairman Yussef Tebeiqa said on the day of the incident.

Tebeiqa said the attack in Sirte, home town of slain dictator Muammar Qaddafi, might have been motivated by religion as money and jewelry were not taken.

Sirte, 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of Tripoli, is in the hands of Islamist militias including Ansar al-Sharia, which the U.N. Security Council last month added to its terror list over links to Al-Qaeda and for running Islamic State group training camps.

Several Coptic Christian Egyptians have been killed in Libya in recent years. In February, the bodies of seven Egyptian Christians who had been shot were found near the second city of Benghazi.

Thousands of Egyptians work in Libya, mainly in the construction and craft sectors.

Last Update: Friday, 26 December 2014 KSA 13:39 - GMT 10:39