The Islamic State – Sinai Province (IS-SP; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية – ولاية سيناء, al-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah – Wilayah Sīnāʼ)[10] was a branch of the jihadist organization Islamic State that was active in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.
Foundation
Islamic State – Sinai Province was originally known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM) which has been part of the Sinai insurgency and has been especially active in the Sinai Peninsula since 2011 after the deterioration of security there, focusing its efforts on Israel and the Arab gas pipeline to Jordan. After former Egyptian PresidentMohamed Morsi was deposed in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état,[11] Egypt began a crackdown on jihadist groups in Sinai and elsewhere.[12] ABM and other jihadist groups intensified their campaign of attacks on Egyptian security forces.
During 2014, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM) sent emissaries to IS in Syria to seek financial support, weapons and tactical advice.[13] On 10 November 2014, many members of ABM took an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of IS.[14][15] It adopted the name Sinai Province and has since carried out attacks, mostly in North Sinai, but also in other parts of Egypt.[3]
Security officials say militants based in Libya have established ties with Sinai Province.[16] On 13 November 2014, ABM dissolved its loyalty to Al-Qaeda and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS), and adopted the name Sinai Province (Wilayah Sīnāʼ) claiming to be a branch of IS.[3][17]
Known leaders
It was believed that Abu Osama al-Masri was leader of IS-SP from August 2016 until his death in June 2018, but not much other personal information is available. In March 2021, it was reported that another IS-SP leader, Salim Salma Said Mahmoud al-Hamadin, was killed during clashes with Egyptian and Bedouin forces near Al-Barth, south of Rafah.[18]
As of the beginning of 2023, the group has been very inactive due to the heavy operations against IS-SP by the Egyptian Army and Sinai Tribes Union.[citation needed]
The group has killed thousands of Egyptian security personnel, and has also been responsible for attacks on civilians, including the killing of Croatian engineer Tomislav Salopek,[19] in August 2015.
On 1 July 2015, the group launched a large scale assault in and around the Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, eventually being driven back by Egyptian security forces after at least 100 militants and 17 soldiers were killed in the fighting.[20] According to Brian Fishman of the New America Foundation, the tactics used by the attackers - suicide bombers backed up by direct and indirect fire, mortar fire in combination with small arms, and simultaneous assaults in multiple locations — suggested a transfer of knowledge from IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.[21]
The group claimed to have shot three Grad rockets on 3 July 2015 from Sinai to southern Israel near the Gaza Strip. Two rocket hits were confirmed in Eshkol, which did not result in any injury or property damage.[22] Israel did not respond to the attack.
On 16 July 2015, the group claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on an Egyptian Navy patrol boat on the north coast of Sinai, close to the Gaza Strip.[citation needed]
The group claimed responsibility for bringing down Russian aircraft Metrojet Flight 9268, carrying 224 passengers. It was flying to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh on 31 October 2015, when it broke up over Hasna (Egypt), killing all on board.[23] Data obtained from the airplane black boxes gives credence to the theory that there was a bomb attack.[24] On 17 November 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that a bomb attack brought down the aircraft.[25]
One of the group's leaders, Ashraf Ali Hassanein Gharabali, was shot and killed in a shoot-out with Egyptian security forces in Cairo on 10 November 2015. The Egyptian Interior Ministry linked Gharabali to a string of attacks including an assassination attempt on the Interior Minister.[26][27]
The group claimed responsibility for an attack on the Arab gas pipeline on 7 January 2016.[28]
In December 2016, the group revealed the name of its governor or wali (leader) to be Abu Hajar al-Hashemi.[29][30]
In February 2017, IS-linked operatives launched four Grad rockets from Egyptian territory in Sinai peninsula on the Israeli southernmost city of Eilat, prompting the Israeli Iron Dome system to intercept three of the rockets, with no physical casualties or damage reported, though 11 civilians were brought to hospital to be treated for shock.[citation needed]
In March 2017, the group released a video[31] titled "The Light of the Islamic Law", in which they were shown blowing up Egyptian patrols, destroying TV sets, desecrating and detonating graves, executing prisoners and captured Egyptian soldiers, and beheading two old men (one an elder who voiced opposition to IS, and the other a street magician performer).
It was reported on 21 April 2017 that an Egyptian air raid killed 19 IS fighters, including three unnamed leaders.[32]
On July 7, IS-Sinai Province militants encircled and ambushed an Egyptian military base in Rafah known as el Barth, 20 Egyptian troops were killed (including colonel Ahmed Mansi) and 3 others wounded. 46 IS-Sinai province militants were killed with the loss of 6 vehicles. Most of the base was demolished after a suicidal car bomb.
On 24 November 2017, In the Bir al-Abed attack jihadists killed 311 people and injured at least 122.[33]
On 19 December 2017, one officer was killed and two were injured in a failed assassination attempt on the Minister of Interior Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar and the minister of defense Sedki Sobhy.[34]
From 2018 to 2020, 840 militants were killed by Egyptian Security Forces who lost 67 soldiers in return. In March 2020, Egyptian forces managed to kill Abu Fares Al-Ansari, a commander of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, in Al Ajra' area south of Rafah.
On 1 May 2020, IS claimed responsibility via its Amaq News Agency for a bombing that killed and wounded several Egyptian Army personnel near the city of Bir al-Abd in North Sinai Governorate. In retaliation, Egyptian police managed to kill 18 extremist militants in a raid in northern Sinai Peninsula.
On 21 July 2020, IS captured five villages in Sinai west of Bir al-Abd.
On 26–28 August 2020, Egypt retook the five villages and killed 73 IS operatives.
On 1 January 2021, a roadside bomb killed two members of Egypt's security forces and wounded five others near Bir al-Abd in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
On 9 February 2021, local sources reported that six fighters of the tribal militias supporting the Egyptian regime had been killed and another fighter had been abducted in central Sinai in an IS ambush.
On 22 February 2021, IS operatives fired at an Egyptian army patrol south of Sheikh Zuweid, near a roadblock. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded.
On 27 February 2021, IS operatives exploded an IED targeting an Egyptian foot patrol. The explosion killed 3 Egyptian soldiers including a colonel, Ahmad Abdel Mohsen. One other soldier was also wounded.
On 11 March 2021, IS claimed responsibility for killing a father and his son because they were 'collaborating' with Egyptian authorities.
In March 2021, Human Rights Watch accused the Egyptian armed forces of violating international human rights law and committing war crimes by demolishing more than 12,300 residential and commercial buildings and 6,000 hectares of farmland since 2013 in North Sinai.
On 22 March, The Egyptian forces managed to eliminate Saleem Al-Hamadiin, a veteran commander of IS, in a joint operation with the local tribes in the village of Al-Barth, south of Rafah.
On 5 April, IS released photos showing the execution of an alleged spy, who was apparently working for the Egyptian authorities.
On 17 April, IS released footage of them executing a Coptic Christian and 2 other tribal fighters. They issued the execution footage as a 'warning to the Christians of Egypt'. In the same release, they also released videos of sniping and IED attacks and an attack on Egyptian tribal forces, leaving at least 4 tribesmen dead.
On 1 May, IS operatives broke into houses in Al-Amal, south of Al-Arish, searching for suspected collaborators with the Egyptian army. Being unable to find them, they executed three of their relatives.
On 30 May, Colonel Khaled Al-Arian was killed by an IS sniper attack on an Egyptian army patrol in Sheikh Zuweid, in northern Sinai. IS also released photos of them executing two alleged 'collaborators', supposedly working with the Egyptian army.
On 4 June, an Egyptian officer was killed in Sinai: Ahmad Jum'ah, an intelligence officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, was killed in the detonation of an IED in northern Sinai. The attack was blamed on IS.
On 14 June, a group of IS militants including a commander were killed during an Egyptian army raid on a farm in Bir al-Abd.
On 31 July, IS militants ambushed a group of Egyptian soldiers at their security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid, northern Sinai. 5 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 6 more were wounded. 3 IS militants were also killed in the shootout.
On 1 August, it was reported that 89 extremists were killed in northern Sinai, compared to eight Egyptian soldiers. Meanwhile, 13 tunnel entrances were destroyed at the borders with the Gaza Strip and Israel.
On 9 August, an IS IED was activated south of Rafah against an Egyptian army vehicle killing Mohammad Abd Motagalli, an Egyptian army colonel.
On 12 August, the Egyptian armed forces eliminated 13 terrorists in northern and central Sinai. 9 soldiers were killed and wounded during the exchange of fire.
On 25 August 2 Egyptian soldiers were killed by IS snipers whilst conducting operations in northern Sinai.
In August 2022, videos and photographs were circulated over social media, showing how the army-affiliated militias executed three shackled or wounded men in custody. The executions were extrajudicial. Human Rights Watch called for the Egyptian authorities to immediately open a “transparent and impartial investigation” into the violations.[38]
In November 18 2022, dozens of IS fighters clashed with the Egyptian army on a government building in Al-Ismailia, in which resulted in killing and wounding 6 members of the Egyptian army and an airstrike on IS fighters.[39]
In December 1 2022, IS soldiers killed and wounded 6 members of the Egyptian police in Al-Ismailia governorate.
In December 31 2022, two gunmen killed and wounded 15 of the Egyptian police in Al-Ismailia governorate.[40]
