The White House has condemned the murder of 21 Coptic Christians following the release of a video which purports to show the Egyptian hostages being beheaded in Libya.
Militants linked to Islamic State released the video on Sunday showing handcuffed hostages dressed in orange jumpsuits being murdered by black-clad terrorists.
In the video - which is titled "a message signed with blood to the nation of the cross" - the militants are identified as fighters with the Tripoli Province of Islamic State.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest described the apparent killings as a "despicable and cowardly murder".
"This wanton killing of innocents is just the most recent of the many vicious acts perpetrated by ISIL-affiliated terrorists against the people of the region," Mr Earnest said.
"This heinous act once again underscores the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya, the continuation of which only benefits terrorist groups, including ISIL."
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al Sisi has threatened to carry out a "suitable" punishment for the killings.
Speaking on state television, Mr al Sisi declared seven days of mourning and ordered a security meeting in Cairo with military commanders, as well as Egypt's defence and interior ministers.
"Egypt reserves the right to respond in a suitable way and time to punish these murderers," he said.
The Coptic Church issued a statement saying it was "confident" the killers will be brought to justice and confirmed those beheaded were Egyptian Copts.
"The Orthodox church... is confident its homeland would not rest until the evil perpetrators get their fair retribution for their wicked crime," the statement said.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron described the killings as "a cruel and barbaric act", adding: "We will not waver in our fight against terrorists and extremism."
In January the Islamic State branch in Libya claimed it had abducted 21 Egyptian Christians.
Egypt's foreign ministry confirmed at the time that 20 Egyptians had been kidnapped in two separate incidents in Libya.
Relatives of those kidnapped have gathered in Cairo in recent days to call for the hostages to be released.
Egypt's Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East and are estimated to account for around 10% of the Egyptian population.
Thousands of Egyptians have headed to Libya to work since the Egyptian uprising in 2011, despite their government's advice that they should stay away from the country.
The latest video follows the release of footage showing the burning alive of 26-year-old Jordanian pilot Moaz al Kasasbeh.
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