SHEIKH ZUWEID, Egypt — “'The Sinai tribes are fighting terrorism.' This sentence has spread throughout media outlets across the globe, without exaggeration, and perhaps rivals the recently published news about Kim Kardashian’s rear."

It is with these sarcastic words that a prominent member of the Tarabin tribe, which heads what the media has deemed “the alliance with the Egyptian army against terrorism,” responded when Al-Monitor asked about the latest developments in the war on terrorism.

The tribesman, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said, “The media have made it seem that there is a fierce war between the tribes and terrorists, yet this is an exaggeration. These media outlets rush to transmit [news] without drawing from the reality in Sinai. This region suffers from unimaginable security restrictions, whether from army forces or from the terrorist organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. Neither side of this quarreling pair wants information to come out that contradicts what each has said to its followers.”

According to on-the-ground accounts obtained by Al-Monitor, the story began when a statement attributed to the Tarabin tribe was published at dawn on April 18, calling for unification among the tribes of the Sinai Peninsula to confront Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The statement included a set of names of those leading this initiative. In response, on the evening of April 25, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis published a statement threatening anyone collaborating with the army against them — whether through words, arms or other means of support, even if moral support. This statement included a call to behead those who had signed the statement published on behalf of the Tarabin tribe.