Four men beheaded in Egypt - it's spreading

A Sinai-based militant group said on Thursday it had beheaded four Egyptians, accusing them of providing Israel with intelligence for an airstrike that killed three of its fighters.

Four headless corpses were found in the Sinai Peninsula earlier this month, security sources said - the first time that any decapitations had been made public in Egypt.

The men had been abducted by gunmen two days earlier while driving in the town of Sheikh Zuwaid, which is just a few kilometers (miles) from the Gaza Strip.

In a video released on Twitter, Egypt's most dangerous militant group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, said the four men had been spying for Israel's Mossad spy agency.


Armed men in black masks stood over the kneeling captives as one of the militants read out a statement. Minutes later, the four men had their heads cuts off.

The filmed killings was reminiscent of images posted on the Internet by Islamic State, which has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria, suggesting Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis might have been inspired by the group, notorious for beheadings and executions.

The Sinai militants are not believed to be officially linked to Islamic State insurgents. However, Egyptian intelligence officials say the group has influenced Egyptian militants who are based just over the border with Libya.

The officials say the Libya-based fighters have also established contacts with Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.

Though the four dead men were civilians, security sources had said initially that they might have been targeted for their perceived allegiance to the police and army.