Jihadi War in Sinai
INSS Insight No. 609, September 28, 2014
Yoram Schweitzer, Shani Avita .
http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=7734

SUMMARY: Terrorist activity by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has increased in recent
weeks. Presumably the organization’s growing activity in Sinai, which is
spilling over into Egyptian cities, is affected by the tightening of its
relations with non-Egyptian terrorist organizations, headed by ISIS and
Salafi jihadi affiliates from the Gaza Strip, and constitutes a strong
challenge to the sense of security and stability of the el-Sisi regime. This
is the background to the recently heightened activity by the Egyptian army
against terrorism in Sinai.

Terrorist activity by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has increased in recent weeks.
Presumably the organization’s growing activity in Sinai, which is spilling
over into Egyptian cities, is affected by the tightening of its relations
with non-Egyptian terrorist organizations, headed by ISIS and Salafi jihadi
affiliates from the Gaza Strip, and constitutes a strong challenge to the
sense of security and stability of the el-Sisi regime. This is the
background to the recently heightened activity by the Egyptian army against
terrorism in Sinai. Relations between Egypt and the US have recently
tightened, and the US is set to supply Apache helicopters to President
al-Sisi’s army as an expression of partnership between the two countries in
the campaign against terrorism.

The intensive terrorism campaign by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is concentrated
mainly in northern and central Sinai, and recently also on the border with
Libya. It comprises primarily attacks on soldiers, ambushes, improvised
explosive devices, and attacks against the natural gas pipeline. The
organization’s attacks are becoming more daring and more lethal, and some
exhibit characteristics reminiscent of ISIS’s brutal style, including the
cold-blooded execution of groups of Egyptian soldiers and beheading of all
those regarded as traitors.

In this context, the closer connections between Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and
ISIS over the past year are particularly noticeable. The Egyptian Ansar Bayt
al-Maqdis, whose founding declaration in late 2011 expressed public loyalty
to al-Qaeda and its new leader, al-Zawahiri, apparently recently, at the
demand of ISIS, transferred its loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
who appointed himself caliph, thereby challenging al-Zawahiri’s leadership.
The nature and depth of the connections between the organizations were
recently clarified by the exposure of rare interrogation materials released
by the Egyptian authorities, following the arrest of a senior operative in
the Egyptian organization. The operative, Adel Habara, was formerly a senior
commander in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization and one of al-Zawahari’s
loyal followers. In August 2013, he commanded the attack and murder of some
25 Egyptian soldiers, shot in cold blood by their attackers. In the
transcripts of conversations between leaders of the two organizations, it
was learned that a senior Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis member had reported to their
his ISIS colleague on the massacre they had committed, and had asked for
financing in return for logistics support, including Libyan documents and a
pledge of allegiance.

ISIS has recently shown great interest in events in Libya, and seeks to
exploit the anarchy in that divided country to obtain support from jihad
organizations operating there. ISIS is using Libya as a springboard to
countries on its borders, including Egypt. The Egyptians recently captured
an ISIS squad attempting to penetrate Egypt from Libya. Note that Ansar Bayt
al-Maqdis is also operating in this area; as part of these operations, in
late July 2014 its attack on an Egyptian position on the Libyan border cost
the lives of 22 Egyptian soldiers.

The Gaza Strip is also contributing its share to the cooperation between
these jihadi organizations in Sinai. Although the connection between Ansar
Bayt al-Maqdis operatives and Salafi jihadi organizations in Gaza is not
new, it was recently given a boost by Operation Protective Edge. During the
operation, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis expressed public support for the Gazans’
struggle, and even launched rockets against the communities of Bnei
Netzarim, Ktziot, and Eilat. Another vehicle loaded with rockets belonging
to the organization was seized by Egyptian security forces before the
rockets could be launched against Israel. The organization also dispatched a
suicide bomber to attack Kerem Shalom, but the attack was foiled when the
terrorist was intercepted and killed by the Egyptian guards before he could
carry out the attack. Notable in the context is the recent declaration in
Gaza of the founding of a new Salafi jihadi organization called Supporters
of the Islamic State in Gaza. Operatives of this organization documented
themselves launching missiles against various targets in Israel during
Operation Protective Edge, while quoting the words of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
the founding father of of ISIS, and expressing support for the Islamic
State organization.

Gaza also provides places of hiding and passageways for ISIS personnel on
their way to Sinai. For example, the Egyptians caught a network of 15 ISIS
operatives that included Syrians, Iraqis, and Egyptians, who fought in its
ranks, before they could manage to contact Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis operatives
in Sinai for the purpose of carrying out joint terrorist operations against
the Egyptian security forces.

Members of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis are also operating in Egypt, together with
smaller local organizations such as al-Furqan, Ajnad Misr, and Jaysh
al-Islam. Their activities include shooting at police stations and
roadblocks and assassinations of senior Egyptian administration officials
and policemen belonging to the security forces. The organization recently
focused its activity in areas adjacent to the presidential palace in Cairo
and government office buildings.

So far, ISIS has not operated in Egyptian territory, but following the
declaration by President el-Sisi that his country would assist the
international coalition in its war against ISIS, ISIS spokesman Adnani
called on his organization’s affiliates in Sinai to escalate their attacks
against the Egyptian security forces, whom he called the Jewish guards and
soldiers of the new Egyptian pharaoh, and told them to attack the Egyptian
bases, seize the soldiers’ houses, and behead the soldiers.

Following these statements, the Egyptian army recently began a major
offensive against the terrorist organizations in Sinai. It arrested many
operatives, bombed their positions and their underground launching sites,
and conducted large scale battles with wanted persons and senior commanders
in the organization.

The campaign against the smuggling tunnels from the Gaza Strip to Sinai also
continues in full force. Even though the Egyptian army has already succeeded
in destroying hundreds of tunnels, it appears that the tunnels still
constitute a substantive threat to Egyptian security in Sinai. Therefore,
the campaign by the Egyptian army and security forces against the growing
terrorist forces in Sinai, which is also staging attack deep inside Egypt,
will presumably escalate in the coming weeks. The fact that Egypt is being
forced to deal now with an acute daily terrorist threat on several fronts –
inside Egypt, in Sinai, on the Libyan border, and on the border with Gaza –
is forcing it into a focused effort in cooperation with regional and
international allies. Israel is unquestionably a loyal ally and partner in
the campaign against Salafi jihadi terrorism, especially when Israel itself
constitutes a target for these organizations.

Senior officers in Israel have stated that at this stage, ISIS is a remote
enemy that does not regard Israel as its most important target, certainly
not in the short term. At the same time, attention should be paid to the
ever close alliance between ISIS and Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and Salafi jihadi
organizations in Gaza. This trend makes ISIS an immediate intelligence
target for monitoring and counterattack in tight cooperation with both Arab
and Western partners. Moreover, while it is preferable that Israel avoid
being at the front of the campaign against ISIS, it is clear that it should
lend its proven intelligence and operational capabilities to the
international campaign to halt the expansion of Salafi jihadi terrorism
parked on its borders to the south, the north, and probably in the future,
also to the east.
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Yoram Schweitzer is head of the Terrorism and Low Intensity Program at INSS.
Shani Avita is an intern in the Program.