CAIRO, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Saturday has sentenced seven members of the Islamic State (IS) to death over charges of murder and violence, official news agency MENA reported.
The defendants were accused of joining IS military training camps in Libya and Syria and the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians working in Libya.
The crime of slaughtering the Egyptian workers was filmed by the group and released in February 2015.
Explosive devices as well as CDs featuring military training of IS militants were seized in their possession.
The court has referred the case to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.
The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but his final opinion could reduce the penalty.
The court will give its final sentence against another 13 accused with the same charges in Nov. 25.
Egypt has been battling a wave of terrorist attacks, centered mostly in North Sinai since the army-led ouster of the Islamic leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The Islamists said the attacks that targeted security men and Coptics were in revenge of the crackdown against Morsi's supporters and the Christians loyalty to the army.
