Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (gov.krd) - In a statement, the Kurdistan Regional Government Council of Ministers condemned the murder by the Islamic State terrorist organisation, ISIS, of 21 innocent Coptic Egyptians in Libya.

Following is the text of the statement:

Like every other brutal and inhumane crime, we strongly condemn the barbaric acts committed by the so called Islamic State terrorist organization, ISIS, which heinously killed 21 innocent Coptic Egyptians in Libya in cold blood and in a cowardly barbaric manner.

We have seen the blood of innocent Christians, Yezidis, Kurds, Iraqis, Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi civilians as well as hostages from around the world shed in a barbaric way and now sadly we see the same happens to those innocent Coptic Egyptians. All this shows that these terrorists are the enemies of humanity no matter what their religion, ethnicity or beliefs are.
The entire civilised and developed world is before a great historical responsibility, in assuming its duty to eradicate terrorism for the sake of ensuring a stable and peaceful world where nations and peoples coexist peacefully.

In our name and on behalf of the people and the government of the Kurdistan Region, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy, the people and government of Egypt and in particular to the Coptic community in Egypt. We are confident that the terrorists will pay a heavy price for this crime and all their other crimes and justice will eventually prevail.

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Council of Ministers
17 February 2015