Sinai militants rise again

RAFAH, Egypt — The militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has been significantly restoring its power and presence in the Sinai Peninsula, despite the heavy blows delivered during battles with the Egyptian army, which have been ongoing for more than a year. The group has been able to continuously adapt its tactics in the war while the Egyptian army has remained faithful to its traditional routine in military operations.

At the beginning of the war on terrorism, which began on Aug. 7, 2013, the Egyptian army succeeded in draining the sources of arms supply to the group. The security headquarters of the group was targeted both day and night, until the Egyptian army was able to displace and track the members of the group through fierce, daily military operations. These have been encumbering the daily life of residents in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah.

The Sawarka tribe is among the largest tribes in Egypt. One of its chieftains relayed his views to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Different factors helped Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis to restore its activities. First, it abandoned direct confrontation with the army, especially after the drainage of its sources of arms supply. The members of the group currently hide in deserted areas where the Egyptian army is vulnerable due to [the areas’] complicated geography,” he said.

“After that, the group planted locally made explosive devices on the roads that security forces usually take on a daily basis. The security forces have lost a large number of its members in these ambushes. The army will not be able to defeat these local members, who are well acquainted with the geography of the location, unless it changes its military operations. The army starts early in the morning with security forces searching the towns for the terrorists, destroying the farms of their families and neighbors and arresting innocent people. The terrorists then come back into their towns at night to impose control and plant explosive devices,” he added.