There is no end to brutality where Islamic State (IS) is concerned. Another act of savagery can now be added to the group’s long list of horrors perpetrated against innocent victims in the mindless murder spree it has unleashed in the Middle East. As many as five journalists working for a Libyan television station have had their throats slit by IS militants in another one of their dreaded executions. These journalists had been missing since August last year when they left the city of Tobruk to go to Benghazi. The bodies of the journalists were found on Monday, bringing to an end the sad search for these innocent media professionals. It is being speculated that the journalists were picked up at a check post manned by IS militants in Derna, a hotspot for terrorist activities. It is heartbreaking that for reporters who are out in the field only wanting to get the truth out there for the world to see, such barbarity awaits. We have seen what became of aid workers and others unfortunate enough to have gotten caught in the crosshairs of IS militants out to make some kind of example of those they label as kafirs (infidels) and deserving of death. In such dangerous territory, in the badlands of Islamist militancy, why was the channel they worked for not more concerned about their safety? Every journalist’s life is fraught with danger, particularly those who report from war zones, but there must be some line drawn somewhere, some kind of protection and security blanket offered those who venture onto the path of such danger. What is happening in Libya is painful to watch. Whilst all may not have been right under the rule of Gaddafi, there was normality and a certain modicum of security afforded to all the citizens. Now Libya lies under the stewardship of two governments running parallel to each other, each representing their own pick of the armed groups fighting on the ground. This power vacuum has been exploited by militants like those belonging to IS who see the void as a further stepping stone in their expansionist vision for the Middle East. After conquering large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, IS is on the rampage to claim as much of Libyan soil as it can. Homegrown Libyan militants loyal to IS are helping it achieve this goal.We have the policies of the Obama administration and NATO to thank for this sorry state of the Middle East. Interfering in the running of countries not their own has set fire to this region with many innocent non-combatants being engulfed in the inferno. These five reporters were mere collateral. *