Their only words were, 'Jesus help me': Pope condemns ISIS execution of 21 Christians for their faith and says 'martryrs' blood confesses Christ'

                        

Pope Francis has today condemned the beheading of 21 Coptic Egyptians by ISIS militants, saying all Christians 'be they Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Lutherans' are one faith, proclaiming the murdered men martyrs.

The Pope unexpectedly went off script following a meeting with a representative of the Church of Scotland in the Vatican, making a short speech in his native Spanish in which he claimed the murdered Egyptians' last words were 'Jesus help me'.

The religious leader's unscheduled remarks followed reports by local media that another 35 Egyptians have been kidnapped in areas of Libya controlled by local Islamist militants and ISIS.

The abductions of the Egyptians came after Egypt exacted its revenge on Islamic State militants today with air strikes which a military chief claims killed at least 50 people.

                    

Horror: Blood is seen in the Mediterranean Sea. In the video the jihadis say they now plan to 'conquer Rome'. Italy is only 450 miles away

                     

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They were executed for nothing more than the fact that they were Christian. The blood of our Christian sisters and brothers is testimony that cries out [to us]

'Be they Catholics, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it does not matter. They are Christians, their blood is the same, their blood confesses [their faith in] Christ.'

Libyan media has reported that at least 35 Egyptian guest workers have been rounded up in areas controlled by a local Islamist group and Islamic State supporters.

In the wake of Egypt's retaliation attacks on Monday morning, at least 35 Egyptians, many of them farm workers, were picked up by gunmen, Libya Herald reports.  

                        

Retaliation: Today's air strikes were carried out by warplanes from Egypt together with those from Libya, whose air force chief Saqr al-Jaroushi claimed at least 50 people had been killed 

                         

Fighters: A video image released by the Egyptian Defense Ministry, ashows an Egyptian jet landing today after carrying out raids on Islamic State targets in Libya, which has been increasingly unstable

                          

Fightback: An F-16 fighter landing after carrying an airstrike against militants loyal to Islamic State in Derna in eastern Libya, at a military base in an undisclosed location

The Libyan general told the broadcaster CBC Extra: 'Egypt has the right to defend its children and has struck in Derna... the number of those killed is at least 50.'

Mr Jaroushi said there was a 'high level of coordination' between the two countries and added: 'We just want air strikes to hit some of the targets that are out of our reach.' There was no immediate way to verify the number of people killed.

Egypt's strikes in Libya began this morning as the country said it wanted 'retribution' for the barbaric filmed beheading of 21 Coptic Christians.

There were at least seven strikes in Derna in the east of the country, which has become a hotbed of Islamic extremism since Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.

It is the first time Egypt has announced military action against Islamist targets in its western neighbour, having previously denied it targeted militants there, and the first time militants connected with the Islamic State terror group have been hit with airstrikes outside Syria and Iraq. 

The strikes are in response to a gruesome video, released last night, showing a group of orange jumpsuit-clad Coptic Christians being marched to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea by masked, knife-wielding militants.

The 21 men, who were Egyptian migrant workers kidnapped last month, are then seen being forced onto their knees before they are beheaded simultaneously by the militants standing behind them.

A statement released by the Egyptian military this morning said: 'Your armed forces on Monday carried out focused air strikes in Libya against Daesh camps, places of gathering and training, and weapons depots'.

Daesh is a derogatory Arabic acronym for the Islamic State terror group, commonly referred to as ISIS or ISIL in the West. 

Egyptian state television followed up the military statement by showing footage of warplanes it said were taking off to conduct the strikes. 

                          

To their deaths: The Christian hostages were seen being marched along the beach before the beheadings

                          

Film: The men were marched along a beach before being forced to kneel and beheaded simultaneously 

'Avenging Egyptian blood and retaliating against criminals and killers is a duty we must carry out,' the military said.

The air strikes came hours after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threatened a 'suitable response' to the killings of the Christians who had travelled to Libya seeking work. 

Sisi, a former army chief who overthrew the Islamist president and then won elections touting his firm hand, faced a chorus of demands to retaliate after the beheadings.

Libya's air force meanwhile announced it had launched strikes in the eastern city of Darna, which was taken over by an IS affiliate last year. 

The Egyptian government declared a seven-day mourning period after the release of the video and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi addressed the nation late Sunday night.