During the Economic Development Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh to encourage and stimulate investment in Egypt, bombs exploded on March 13-14 in the vicinity of the HSBC, Barclays and Piraeus banks in Alexandria.

On its Twitter page, the Revolutionary Punishment Movement (al-Iqab al-Thawri) claimed responsibility for the bombings, which it said came in response to the participation of these banks, regarded as one of the main strengths of the event, in the conference.

Two days before the start of the conference, on March 11, the movement posted a YouTube video threatening to retaliate against Arab investors if they participate in the conference. The movement opposed the conference because it supports the current regime, which they are trying to oust.

Al-Iqab al-Thawri is a terrorist movement founded on Jan. 24, 2015. It aims to bring down the current Egyptian regime by using armed force and utilizes several social media accounts to advertise its threats and operations. The movement’s ideology has not been made public. According to security experts, it might be affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, but that has not yet been confirmed.