[by Dean Smith – updated April 18, 2015] Italian police are reporting that Muslims on board a refugee boat crossing the North Mediterranean Sea from Libya threw 12 Christians off the boat. The 12 were murdered simply because they were Christians.

The rubber boat held 105 people when it left Libya on Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Somewhere along their journey Muslims on board became aware of the Christians. The Muslims were from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali.

[Since we posted this story, there have been more revelations on what happened on board the raft carrying the 105 refugees. Apparently, the rubber boat started leaking and people began praying. The Muslims on board became enraged when they heard a boy praying to God instead of allah. Screaming allah is great they threw the boy overboard. When other Christians tried to help the boy, the Muslims turned on them as well.]

The murdered Christians were from Ghana and Nigeria and were likely fleeing the escalating Muslim violence against Christians in those countries.

The police became aware of the incident after the Italian Navy intercepted the boat and those on board told what happened. According to reports, the Muslims would have killed more if people on board had not have formed a human chain to protect themselves.

The police have since arrested 15 Muslims.

Muslims believe a Mahdi is soon coming who will set up Muslim rule on Earth. Some state the Mahdi’s return will take place once Islam controls Jerusalem, Turkey and Rome. With Turkey under Islamic rule and a third of the population of Jerusalem now Muslim, Islamic extremists in the Middle East are increasingly looking at Rome as their next target.

The rhetoric was recently taken up a notch when last fall ISIS stated it had set its sights on conquering Rome. The front cover of an ISIS magazine featured a picture of St. Peters Basilica with a ISIS flag photo-shopped on top of an obelisk sitting in the square.

Terrorist experts are concerned ISIS will use refugee boats to land extremists in Italy.

The Italian Coast guard says in the week prior to this incident, 10,000 refugees mostly from Libya, landed on Italy’s shores.

Read more:

• Italian Police: Muslim migrants threw Christians overboard: CNN