Ansar Bait al-Maqdis

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
أنصار بيت المقدس Participant in the Sinai insurgency and Gaza–Israel conflict
Active	2011–10 November 2014[1]
Ideology	Salafist jihadism
Leaders	Waleed Waked (POW)[2] Ibrahim Mohamed Freg †[3] Shadi el-Manaei[4]
Headquarters	Sinai Peninsula
Area of operations	Egypt  Gaza Strip[5][6]
Strength	1,000[7]–2,000[8] (before merger with ISIL)
Became	Wilayat Sinai
Allies	Islamic State[9]
Opponents	Egypt  Israel[6]
Battles and wars	Sinai insurgency

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (Arabic: أنصار بيت المقدس‎ Anṣār Bayt al-Maqdis,^[10] "Supporters of the Holy House"), or Ansar Jerusalem^[11] ("Supporters of Jerusalem") was the name of a jihadist group based in Egypt; many Sinai-based members swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),^[1] and most of the group became a branch of ISIL, renaming itself ISIL-Sinai Province.

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis emerged as an extremist militant group after the 2011 Egyptian revolution, with its operations increasing in the wake of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état which deposed President Mohamed Morsi.^[7] The group declared the Egyptian army and police apostates that can be killed. ^[12]

The group was believed to have been the main group behind the militant activity in the Sinai.^[13] The group recruited Bedouins as well as other Egyptians and people of other nationalities.^[13] Ten leaders from the group were reported to have escaped from the Sinai to Gaza and Marsa Matrouh in late 2013.^[14]

During 2014, the group sent emissaries to ISIL in Syria to seek financial support, weapons and tactical advice.^[15] On 10 November 2014, many members of the group took an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.^[16] Following this pledge, ISIL supporters within the group formed an official branch of ISIL in the region.^[17][18]

Designation as a terrorist organization

The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by Egypt,^[19] the UAE,^[20] the United Kingdom,^[21] and the United States.^[22]

Attacks

• The group has bombed the pipelines that carry gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan multiple times.^[23][24]
• The group claimed responsibility for the attack on Israeli troops in September 2012.^[10]
• The group claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on the minister of interior Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa that occurred in September 2013.^[25]
• The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on a military intelligence building in Ismailia in October 2013.^[26]
• On 20 November 2013, the group claimed responsibility for the assassination of Mohamed Mabrouk, a security officer involved in the trial against Mohamed Morsi, who was shot dead outside his home in Nasr City on 17 November.^[27]
• A police compound in Mansoura was bombed by the group on 24 December 2013, killing at least 16 people, including 14 police officers.^[28]
• On 31 January 2014, a rocket was launched from the Sinai Peninsula aimed at Eilat. The Iron Dome system intercepted the rocket. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis took responsibility for the launch.^[29]
• The organization claimed responsibility for an attack in Eilat, Israel which occurred on 20 January 2014; no damage or injuries were reported.^[30]
• The group took responsibility for an attack on a police checkpoint in Beni Suef on 23 January 2014 that killed 5 people.^[31]
• The group claimed responsibility for the January 2014 Cairo bombings that took place in late January 2014,^[32] though it later indicated that the Soldiers of Egypt group was behind one of the bombings.^[33]
• Claimed responsibility for the shooting down of a military helicopter in the Sinai that occurred on 25 January 2014.^[34]
• Claimed responsibility for the assassination of Mohamed Al-Saied (who was a member of Egypt's Interior Ministry) that occurred on 28 January 2014.^[35]
• The organization claimed responsibility for an attempted attack on Eilat, Israel which occurred on 31 January 2014; the rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.^[36]
• Claimed responsibility for the 16 February 2014 Taba bus bombing that killed four people, including three Korean tourists and an Egyptian bus driver.^[37] The group warned all tourists to leave Egypt before 20 February 2014.^[38]
• The group claimed responsibility for attacks that killed 3 people in the Sinai that occurred on 2 May 2014.^[39]
• The group released a video on 28 August 2014 showing the beheading of 4 Egyptians accused of being Mossad spies and providing Israel with intelligence.^[40]
• The group claimed responsibility in late September 2014 for killing 6 security personnel.^[41]
• On 8 October 2014, a faction of the group in the Gaza Strip calling itself the Islamic State of Gaza launched a bombing attack on the French Cultural Center in the city of Gaza, only to issue a statement several hours later denying any responsibility for the attack.^[6]
• The group released a graphic propaganda video claiming responsibility for the 24 October 2014 Sinai attacks that killed 28 soldiers northwest of the town of Arish. The group is also responsible for a drive-by shooting several hours later at a checkpoint in Arish that killed three soldiers.^[42]

References