authorities were quoting. they said the bangladeshi survivor said that during the course of the disaster many of the people on the lower decks of the ship were not able to escape because the human traffickers had actually locked them in. as far as the traffickers go, the italian authorities say they are conducting a widespread investigation of people involved in this tragic business of human trafficking. they have detained an unknown number of individuals from sahara africa. this investigation is conducted in sicily and also rome and milan as well. john. ben wedeman for us covering the tragedy. new this morning, u.s. officials are condemning an apparent isis beheading of two groups of prisoners. you can see one group here part of the new isis video campaign.
they are believed to be ethiopian christians. the killings are being called a brutal mass murder. they are being called a quote quote attempt to promote discord between religious communities. we have nic robertson with us from london. the latest of the video appears to be coordination. reporter: it is. this appears to be another isis video. this is an over 30-minute video. the principle message is the christian communities living under isis control either you change to islam or you pay a non-muslim tax or face death. that is part of the message. another part of the message is isis has control in various parts of libya. one group of people executed here who they claim are ethiopian christians one group
christian how to live under the rule of isis. if they pay a non-muslim tax, they can live under the rule of isis. it shows the isis brutality. they killed two groups of ethiopian christians. killed in two separate locations in libya. that is interesting here. they beheaded a group of 15 on the mediterranean coast. the other group of ethiopian christians were murdered by gunshot. they were shot in the southwest of libya. isis is trying to create the impression it has control and sway over large parts of libya. that is incorrect. isis is relatively small in libya. they have done this in conjunction with isis in iraq and isis in syria. they used the same media
search crews in the water right now. hundreds are feared killed when their boat capsizes in the mediterranean. immigration crisis spiraling out of control. video released by isis reportedly showing massacres of christians. terror plot at home. the fbi arrests several men across two cities. welcome back to early start. i m john berman. christine romans is off today. ships in the mediterranean recovering scores of bodies. they were among the migrants trying to escape libya. they died sunday when the ship they were packed into capsized. one survivor said many who died were locked inside the boat by smugglers. our correspondent ben wedeman is following the recovery effort from italy.
investigation of people involved in this tragic business of human trafficking. they have detained an unknown number of individuals from sahara africa. this investigation is conducted in rome and milan as well. john. ben wedeman, potentially hundreds of people killed there. u.s. officials are condemning the isis beheading of christians. you see the captors wearing orange jump suits. national security counsel officials are calling it a mass murder. it is being called an attempted discord amongst religious communities. we have nic robertson joining us now. nic. reporter: john you have isis putting together a 30-minute propaganda video which tells