Egypt punishes Daesh in Sinai
The Egyptian Government provides new information on its campaign against terrorism. Although the official communiqué does not specify any specific date, it is reported that the country's armed forces have carried out 22 raids and 16 special operations in the Sinai Peninsula, the area where the local Daesh branch has most roots. The Ministry of Defence has reported that, in the course of these operations, 126 terrorists have been eliminated and 266 arrested. For its part, the Egyptian Army has lost 15 men, including officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
At the logistical level, the military has also succeeded in destroying up to 228 terrorist shelters and seizing 116 off-road vehicles. Another 56 transport units, as well as more than 200 motorcycles, have been taken out of circulation. The defence statement also states that explosive belts were found in the searched zones, ready to be used in terrorist acts in the north and centre of the Sinai. The terrorists also had more than 600 explosive devices stored in their arsenal that could be detonated by passing military vehicles.
What period of time do these figures refer to exactly? It is not known for sure, since the official note does not specify. This could be more than a recent campaign; it could be an assessment of the situation of the efforts made by the armed forces in recent months.
This theory gains strength when one considers that the statement by the Cairo authorities comes just a few days after a Daesh operative killed ten soldiers in Sinai and injured three others in an attack using homemade explosive devices. The terrorist group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claimed responsibility within hours. It was the most serious attack on Egyptian security forces so far in 2020.
In response, a military operation killed two suspected terrorists. In addition, just this Monday, the army carried out another raid near the town of Bir Abd. According to the public news agency MENA, eighteen terrorists were killed in the military assault on the site. Today's statement could be interpreted as a rhetorical show of force.
Since the emergence and strengthening of Daesh, Sinai has been one of the regions hardest hit by Jihadist terrorism. This region has often served as an operational base for various organisations in order to carry out attacks in other parts of the Egyptian geography.
One of the most important organisations is Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which is considered the main branch of Daesh in the area. In the past, the 'Followers of the House of Jerusalem', as their name literally translates, have been responsible for terrorist acts against Coptic churches. They have also maintained intense rivalry with Hamas militants in the neighbouring Gaza Strip.
Recently, however, this armed group has suffered considerable blows. The arrests of their last two leaders, Hicham al-Ashmawy and Mohammad Mohammad al-Sayyid, were major setbacks for their leadership. The recent campaign by the Egyptian Armed Forces is expected to contribute to further limiting their operational capacity.
In the official statement, the Ministry of Defence states that "the Armed Forces and the Police affirm their continuous efforts to eliminate terrorism, uproot its roots and provide security and protection to the great people of Egypt".
The North African country and its recent history are inextricably linked to jihadist terrorism. It was there that, thanks in large part to the Muslim Brotherhood, the most radical Sunni Islamist political views began to take hold in the 1970s.
The Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation (EIJ) was one of the first organisations with operational capacity and carried out a bloody campaign of attacks during the 1990s. Its founder, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, also played a major role in the origin of Al-Qaeda. Since the death of Osama bin Laden, he has been in charge of the global terrorist network.