Egypt's Sinai: Mapping terror
Ahmed Eleiba, Monday 21 Apr 2014
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/99478/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-S=
inai--Mapping-terror.aspx

On Monday the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters ruled that Ansar Beit Al-Maqdi=
s =

be classified as a terrorist organisation. A number of Gulf States, led by =

Saudi Arabia, had already designated the group as terrorist. They were =

quickly followed by Washington.

In the same week the leader of the organisation was killed in an ambush in =

Al-Toma village in the north Sinai district of Sheikh Zuwaid and military =

and security forces successfully forestalled a number of terrorist =

operations.

They also conducted several raids that led to the deaths of three members o=
f =

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis organisation and the detention of several others.

Many questions about the structure of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis organisation and =

its links with other salafi jihadist groups and organisations in Sinai =

remain unanswered. There is no question that there is an active network of =

such organisations.

The network operates on two levels. On the structural level it is led by =

commanders who have experience operating in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and =

Yemen.

They moved from the Asian to the African arena =97 Somalia, Sudan, Libya, =

Tunisia, Syria and then Egypt =97 lured first by the collapse of the tight =

security that had prevailed in the pre-Arab Spring regimes and then by the =

rise of the religious right, or the Islamist movements, in the political =

sphere.

The second level is ideological and shaped, in particular, by Abdallah =

Azzam, the godfather of Al-Qaeda, and Abu Mohamed Al-Maqdisi a leading =

Salafist Jihadist ideologue.

A week ago, Egyptian authorities arrested Al-Qaeda officer Tharwat Shehata =

in the Tenth of Ramadan City. The place where he was hiding out is thought =

to belong to a Muslim Brotherhood member.

Whether or not this is the case Shehata=92s presence in Egypt cannot be =

separated from events in Sinai. He can best be described as a central =

intelligence unit for Al-Qaeda, whether in its first =93Afghan jihad=94 ver=
sion =

or its second =93post-Arab Spring jihad=94 version. Many Egyptian security =

experts, including General Khaled Okasha, describe the capture of Shehata a=
s =

a major event.

Intelligence on extremist activities in Sinai is accumulating though Okasha =

says much more remains to be done. There has also been a qualitative shift =

in the operational capacities of the security forces with the creation of a =

specialised rapid-intervention anti-terrorism unit.

A senior intelligence expert told Al-Ahram Weekly that Shehata had been =

under surveillance for some time before his arrest and that the observation =

had revealed important information.

On the evolution of Al-Qaeda networks he said: =93I believe that they are m=
ore =

extensive than many believe and that there is an ability to extend even =

further given that some international parties are keen to ignite fires in =

the region. I do not exclude the US from this.=94

The source also spoke about the progress of security operations in Sinai in =

recent months. Measures already taken on the eastern front were =93ideal=94=
, he =

said. He warned, however, that the western borders with Libya require much =

more intensive security activity and facilities. Libya, he said, has become =

a prime exporter of jihadist extremism.

=93If Egypt could install radars on the borders there and increase aerial =

surveillance with pilotless aircraft that situation would change. Israel =

restricts the use of such radars in Sinai. We should therefore use them =

along our western borders in order to curb cross-border infiltration as muc=
h =

as possible.=94

The source said acquiring pilotless aircraft had become an urgent priority =

for Egypt. =93We need the sort that is being manufactured by Israel. The =

Russians, Americans, Germans, Turkey and India all depend on drones that =

Israel makes. But Israel is certainly not going to give us one directly.=94

But could Russia act as a third party and include one in a deal with Egypt?

=93That would be difficult. Even conventional weapons being discussed with =

Egypt at present are contingent on the arrival of Field Marshall =

Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to the president=92s office.=94

In a related development, Libya=92s ambassador to Cairo, Mohamed Fayez Jibr=
il, =

met on Monday with Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.

Although much of the meeting was devoted to the problems of the more than a =

million Egyptians living in Libya and, particularly, hate crimes targeting =

Egyptian Copts, the two officials also discussed border security. Jibril =

laid the blame for the current situation on the Qaddafi regime which he sai=
d =

has used the border area as a recruitment zone for foreign mercenaries.

But Jibril, says Libyan expert Al-Hussein Bin Karim, is ignoring the facts =

and saying only what the government wants to hear.

=93True, the Qaddafi regime had its bad points. But there are two parties =

responsible for what is happening in Egypt now. One comprises the salafist =

jihadist emirs of various stripes who control a sizeable segment of Libya.

The other comprises the weapons emirs and their tribal networks of smuggler=
s =

which extend from Upper Egypt to Marsa Matrouh.=94

Israeli Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz has observed that the four areas =

surrounding Israel are unstable. With respect to the =93southern front=94 =
=97 =

Sinai =97 he urged good security coordination with Egypt, which is somethin=
g =

he said the Egyptian army can do in keeping with the arrangements of the =

security protocol of the Camp David accord.

The Israeli military leader noted: =93We are happy with the calm that has =

prevailed on Sinai front recently. But we do not depend on it and, =

therefore, we will continue our deployment operations.=94

=93At this phase there is no need for military operations because of the cl=
ose =

and good relations with the Egyptian side. The more coordination and =

cooperation between us develop the more the likelihood of a military =

operation diminishes. However, we are an army that knows how to work.=94

Israeli affairs expert Said Okasha linked Gantz=92s remarks to statements =

issued by Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claiming that it controls Sinai.

=93If such claims were true the Israeli chief of general staff would never =

have issued such remarks. Nor would the Egyptian army have achieved such =

successes in the field. For example, the army has secured the Suez Canal an=
d =

traffic through it has revived. Tourism [in Sinai] is also moving and =

customary economic activities continue uninterrupted.=94

Despite an expanding terrorist environment generated by the aftermath of th=
e =

25 January revolution and developments following 3 July 2013 that =

necessitated a massive intensification of military operations in Sinai it =

appears that Egypt=92s resistance to terrorist operations is relatively goo=
d.

This is heartening, given that the situation in Sinai is not just a local =

but also a regional, and perhaps international, concern. Nevertheless there =

remains the question related to Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis. If this is a terroris=
t =

group, how do we rank all the other groups and organisations that are =

operating in Sinai and that take =93Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis=94 as a mere banne=
r for =

carrying out terrorist operations.

There definitely remain ambiguities surrounding the terrorist map of Sinai =

and beyond. More importantly, however, the existing agreements, protocols =

and cooperative arrangements are far from sufficient if we are speaking =

about a terrorist map that spans the greater Middle East. At the same time, =

according to Nabil Abdel Fattah, editor-in-chief of the report on the state =

of religion produced by Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies=
, =

=93Cultural and religious discourse requires much more extensive and deeper =

treatment than the very superficial attention that is being accorded at =

present".
=

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