ISIS tags Christians as their 'favorite prey'

(Reuters/Social Media Website via REUTERS TV)A masked Islamic State militant holding a knife speaks next to man purported to be U.S. journalist James Foley at an unknown location in this still image from an undated video posted on a social media website.

Wilayat Sinai, a terror group branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Egypt released a video on Monday exhibiting photographs of a church bombing in Cairo with a warning for believers to prepare for more of such attacks. It also stated that Egyptian Christians are their "favorite prey."

The 20-minute video showed footage of a masked suicide bomber identified as Mahmoud Shafik, a 22-year-old student who blew himself up inside the packed St. Mark's Cathedral that killed 29 people, mostly women and children. A narrator threatened that the attack was "only the beginning."

Another footage showed Egypt's Coptic Christian Pope Theodoros II, Christian businessmen, judges and priests who were accused of refering to Egypt's Muslim majority in a derogatory manner. The narrator said they now consider Egypt's nine million Christians as "infidels."

"God gave orders to kill every infidel," one of the militants armed with an AK-47 assault rifle said in the video, according to Fox News. "Oh worshippers of the cross, the soldiers of the state are watching you," another masked man identified as Abu Zubair al-Masri warned.

Al Masri also assured freedom for jailed jihadists once they liberate Cairo. "Finally, to my brothers in captivity: Rejoice, you believers, do not falter or grieve. I swear to God we will very soon liberate Cairo and free you from captivity," he said, adding, "We will come bearing explosives, I swear we will, so rejoice, you believers."

Violence against Christians has escalated in the past years. Reuters described December's church bombing as the deadliest attack in Egypt outside the Sinai Peninsula where the army has been leading an anti-terrorism operation against Wilayat Sinai for years.

Last week also marked the second anniversary of the decapitating of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians. ISIS carried out the execution near Tripoli in Libya. The victims were officially registered in the book of martyrs for offering their lives to the Christian faith.

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