Security expert: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis 'gasping for breath'
As Egyptian terrorist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis swore allegiance to the Islamic State, several Egyptian security experts dismissed its significance, citing strong gains by the army against the Sinai-based group.
CAIRO — Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has made numerous, painful terrorist attacks against the Egyptian government over the past three years, leading to the deaths of hundreds of army soldiers and police, broadcast an audio recording announcing its pledge of allegiance to the most funded, organized and influential (terrorist) organization at the moment — the Islamic State (IS).
Meanwhile, a leader in Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis called for the organization's targets, which have been concentrated in Sinai, to be shifted to Cairo to hit the ministries and headquarters of the Egyptian government.
Najah Ibrahim is one of the founders of Gamaa Islamiya, an Egyptian Islamist organization that peacefully campaigns for a religious state, and a former member of its Shura Council until he split from it because he believed that the Shura elections held in May 2011 were neither impartial nor transparent.
He told Al-Monitor, “The pledge of allegiance made by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis to IS at this time is a rescue call from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis to IS in light of the full blockade against the group in Sinai at all levels following the attack on Karam al-Kawadis [military base]. This attack was the most violent ever perpetrated by the group against the Egyptian army, in Sinai, on Oct. 24. Members of the group carried out a suicide attack using a car filled with TNT. They placed a bomb on the road leading to the ambush’s location to stop the forces coming to save the victims. Following this, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis killed the survivors of the ambush and confiscated their weapons."
