The branch of the Islamic State group in Libya has claimed the abductions.

The Islamic State group militants in Libya have intensified kidnappings of Christians with the abduction of 21 Christians being the second since the beginning of 2015 as the militants of the Ansar al-Sharia group first kidnapped 20 people on January 3, 2015 some of whom were Egyptian Coptic Christians.

The jihadists in a statement picked up by the Site Intelligence Group  said, “Urgent, Soldiers of the Islamic State captured 21 Christian crusaders”, Mail Online quoted. Reports talk of three pictures showing several men published alongside the statement which did not specify when they were abducted nor their nationalities.  However, a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry reportedly disclosed that 20 Egyptians had been abducted in two separate incidents in Libya but did not say when they were kidnapped.

Libyan government sources confirmed that on January 3, 2015 Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia kidnapped the 20 men in the city of Sirte over several days. On January 5,   a tribal source said 13 of the men had been released and had in fact been detained by people smugglers but the information was never confirmed.

The statement by the Islamic State group, which does not list any demands for the release of the men, said they had been taken "in various areas of Tripoli Province" -- referring to a former administrative region that includes Sirte. Tens of thousands of Egyptians work in Libya, mainly in the construction sector, and they have been targeted as the country has descended into chaos. Last February, the bodies of seven Egyptian Christians who had been shot were found near Libya’s second city, Benghazi, parts of which are held by Islamist militias.