![Members of a non-governmental organisation lift a coffin containing the remains one of the 20 Egyptian Copts beheaded by ISIS on the beach in Sirte in 2015 at the office of criminal investigations in Misrata prior to being expatriated to Cairo on May 14th. [Mahmud Turkia/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2018/05/14/12664-Egypt-Copts-reaptriation-700_496.webp)
Egypt's Coptic Church said Monday (May 14th) it has not yet been officially notified about the date of return of the bodies of 20 Egyptians executed by the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) in the Libyan city of Sirte in 2015.
Reports have been circulating that Libya would return the victims' bodies to Egypt on Monday, Egypt's Ahram Online reported.
"We have not been notified by officials yet about the date on which we will be receiving the bodies of the martyrs," said the Rev. Angaleos Ishak Massoud, secretary to Pope Tawadros II.
Libyan officials discovered the bodies in October 2017 after the city was recaptured from ISIS.
![Coffins containing the remains of 20 Egyptian Copts beheaded by ISIS on the beach in Sirte in 2015 are seen at the office of criminal investigations in Misrata prior to being expatriated to Cairo on May 14th. [Mahmud Turkia/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2018/05/14/12665-Egypt-coffins-Libya-700_496.webp)
Coffins containing the remains of 20 Egyptian Copts beheaded by ISIS on the beach in Sirte in 2015 are seen at the office of criminal investigations in Misrata prior to being expatriated to Cairo on May 14th. [Mahmud Turkia/AFP]
Most of the victims were from Upper Egypt's Samalut city in Minya governorate, with one victim reportedly from Ghana.
Officials were able to identify the bodies by matching DNA which had been taken from family members of the deceased.
'A tragedy for all Egyptians'
On February 15th, ISIS's Libyan branch posted a video to extremist websites that showed the kidnapped men, clad in orange jumpsuits, being forced to kneel on a beach before being pushed to the ground and killed by masked gunmen.
Christian and Muslim clerics and Egyptians from all walks of life turned out in force to condemn the slaughter, with religious services and processions.
Following a February 17th, 2015 mass at the Cathedral of St. Mark in al-Abassiya, headed by the Pope Tawadros II, Coptic activists and several politicians took part in a symbolic funeral procession.
Similar memorial services were held in churches across the country and around the world, in addition to masses for three consecutive days in the hometowns of the victims.
Less than 24 hours after the video's release, Egypt launched intensive airstrikes on ISIS camps, staging and training sites and weapons and ammunition depots in the Libyan cities of Derna and Sirte, in co-ordination with the Libyan army.
The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments said at the time that the crime was directed against the entire Egyptian people, stressing the need to confront extremist ideology and stem its spread in the region and world.
Libyan authorities arrested a man in connection with the 2015 killings in September 2017.
The militant, who "watched and oversaw the incident", gave authorities details about the killings and named the other perpetrators, chief of investigations at the Libyan public prosecution Al-Sadiq al-Sour said at the time.
The militant also informed authorities of the whereabouts of the victims’ bodies.
