Category Archives: Egypt

Egypt targets ISIS in Libya; ISIS claims capture of new territory

18 February– Egyptian and Libyan fighter jets conducted two waves of attacks in Derna, Libya, hours after ISIS militants released a video showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christian Egyptians. The attacks targeted ISIS militant camps, training sites and weapons storage facilities.

The Coptic Christians, who were seeking work in Libya, were abducted in two separate incidents in the coastal town of Sirte. The first kidnapping occurred in late December, when the group was abducted at a fake checkpoint while attempting to leave the city. Days later in early January, ISIS militants raided a residential compound in Sirte. They separated Christians from Muslims before handcuffing their captives and taking them away. The hostages were featured in the latest edition of Dabiq, the English-language propaganda magazine created by ISIS. In the issue released last week, photos show the male hostages being marched along the coastline as their captors brandish knives.

Thirteen of the victims were from the same Egyptian village, al-Our, in the largely Coptic governorate of Minya. The Egyptian government has declared seven days of national mourning. In a televised address, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described ISIS as “inhuman criminal killers”, adding, “Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals.” Later in the day, Sisi visited St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo to offer his condolences to Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

A statement released by the Egyptian military says, “And let those near and far know that the Egyptians have a shield that protects and preserves the security of the country, and a sword that eradicates terrorism.”

Mohamed Azazza, spokesman for Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said that eight airstrikes had been conducted in Derna. He added, “The plan is to target all IS locations in the country wherever they are.” Libyan air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi said the Egyptian strikes had been co-ordinated with Mr Thinni’s government, and that Libyan planes had also carried out strikes. He reported that between 40 and 50 people had been killed in the first wave of strikes.

The murder of the Egyptian Copts signals that ISIS has intentions to strengthen their impact in Libya. ISIS has thrived in under-governed regions, such Syria, which is engaged in a protracted civil war, and Iraq, which under former Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki was divided politically along sectarian lines. The group’s modus operandi has thus far been to establish bases in regions where the sense of nationalism and political power is fractured. The same is true of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where long ignored grievances led to the most violent aftermath of the Egyptian revolution in 2011. ISIS supporters declared a branch in Egypt in November.

Underlining this strategy, ISIS fighters have sought greater ground in Libya, which has been wracked with strife since their 2011 uprising, which saw the death of Dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Libya is now in the midst of a civil war creating a vacuum in which ISIS has been able to gain foothold. ISIS has a strong presence in Derna, and earlier this month they claimed to have captured the Libyan town of Nawfaliyah. Photos have emerged of a military-style parade in the town’s streets. In Sirte, ISIS fighters also claimed to have seized several key buildings, including radio and television stations and a passport office. Independent reports confirm that the group has been operating in and around Sirte.

In this light, it is likely that Egypt’s rapid military action is in part designed to strengthen the core of Egyptian nationalism and to send a message to the extremist group that they will not be tolerated by a united society in Egypt. Sisi may even adapt pages from Nasser’s playbook and encourage a call Pan-Arabic or Pan-Islamic unity. In doing so, he may simultaneously be encouraging nationalism in the long neglected Sinai Peninsula.

Sisi has also called for a UN resolution which would allow international forces to intervene in Libya. On French radio station Europe1, he said, “We abandoned the Libyan people as prisoners to extremist militias,” and called for weapons to be made available to Libya’s internationally recognised government, which fled to Tobruk after rival militias seized power in the capital.

Asked if he would order Egypt’s air force to strike again, he said: “We need to do it again, all of us together.” On Monday, Egypt signed a £3.8 billion defence deal with France, which includes the purchase of 24 advanced fighter jets. In addition to escalating the anti-terrorism fight in Sinai, it is likely that Egypt and Libya will continue to conduct joint strategic airstrikes in ISIS held territories in Libya. Very early and unconfirmed reports suggest that Italy may also consider mobilising troops against ISIS. Italy’s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano expressed the growing alarm and urged NATO to intervene. “ISIS is at the door,” he said. “There is no time to waste.”

US, Canada, British Embassies issue warnings in Egypt, UAE, Bahrain

9 December- The US State Department warned U.S. Embassy staff in Cairo to remain close to their homes. A memo released by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security reads, “In light of the heightened tensions and recent attacks on Westerners in the region, the U.S. Embassy has recommended that its staff carefully scrutinize their personal movements and consider staying close to their residences and neighborhoods over the coming period.” It is believed that ISIS and affiliated groups may have increased their targeting of Western nationals in recent weeks. Last week, ISIS-linked Egyptian militant group Ansar Beit al Maqdis took responsibility for the killing of Texan oil worked William Henderson, who was reported missing and killed in August. The embassy has remained open.

Meanwhile, the British embassy in Cairo suspended services beginning Sunday. The embassy declined to give details or indicate when it would reopen. The British Consulate-General in Alexandria is operating as normal. A spokesperson for the British embassy stated, “The decision to suspend public services at the embassy has been taken for security reasons and is in the best interests of our staff. The decision is independent of our wider travel advice for Egypt.” An anonymous source indicated that a suspected militant who was recently detained by Egyptian authorities had confessed to plans to target foreign embassies.

On Monday, Canada also closed its embassy in Cairo due to “security concerns.” No other details have been given to explain the closure, but it is thought to be linked to a video released by ISIS on Sunday. The video depicts a man identified as Canadian militant John Maguire (a.k.a. Abu Anwar al-Canadi) urging attacks against his home country. The video refers to the killing of Canadian soldiers and an attack on parliament in Ottawa, and shows Maguire urging Muslims to follow the example of the recent attacks.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney cautioned Canadians in Egypt to remain vigilant. A message on Canada’s Cairo Embassy website states: “The ability to provide consular services may occasionally be limited for short periods due to unsettled security conditions.”

In addition, the US and British diplomatic mission to the United Arab Emirates has warned citizens to be vigilant of further terror attacks targeting Westerners after a school teacher was stabbed to death in a shopping mall and a bomb left outside the home of an American family. The US embassy said it was “engaged at the senior-most levels of the UAE government to ensure the safety and security of US citizens in the UAE,” but urged US citizens to vary their routines and schedules.

Romanian-born Ibolya Ryan, 47, who had become an American citizen and trained as a teacher in the US, died on Thursday after she was attacked by a veiled woman with a butcher’s knife in a public toilet at the Boutik Mall in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital.

A woman has been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of Ibolya Ryan, a Romanian-born naturalised American teacher. The woman is also believed to have left a bomb in front of the home of an Egyptian-American doctor. The bomb was defused before it could detonate. It is believed that the woman may have been working with others to target Westerners.

In response to the recent attacks, Aliya Mawani, counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh, said that Canada’s Travel advisory for Bahrain is advising Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution: ‘We encourage all Canadians to monitor updates on the Travel Advisory for Bahrain on a regular basis.”

Syrian, Egyptian Electronic Armies take Aim at ISIS

The Syrian Electronic Army has returned, and a copycat army of hackers has sprung up in Egypt.

The Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) is a group of hacktivists that support the Syrian government and its president, Bashar al Assad. On 27 November, the group targeted Gigya, a company which manages online comment platforms and Identity and Access Management for nearly 700 clients. The SEA breached Gigya’s account and redirected visitors to an SEA website.

The hack impacted 21 major websites including media outlets Aljazeera, the Chicago Tribune, CNBC, CNN Money, the Evening Standard, the Los Angeles Times, Microsoft, National Geographic, NBC, the New York Daily News, the Guardian, and the Independent. The breach also impacted tech companies including Dell, DirecTV, Logitech, Microsoft, and Verizon Wireless. For three and a half hours, visitors to the hacked sites received a message stating, “You’ve been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA),” and were then redirected to an image of the SEA’s logo and a Syrian flag.

In response to the attack, Gigya CEO Patrick Salyer said, “To be absolutely clear: neither Gigya’s platform itself, nor any user, administrator nor operational data has been compromised and was never at risk of being compromised.”

On the SEA’s website, the pro-Assad hacktivists said the attack was launched in response to reports that Syrian airstrikes in Raqqa hit civilians, “while the truth the strikes hit the ISIS terrorists.” Raqqa, a city in northern Syria, is the headquarters for terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham. On Twitter, the group messaged, “Happy thanks giving, hope you didn’t miss us. The press: Please don’t pretend #ISIS are civilians.”

In a second Tweet, the SEA provided users with information on how to prevent hacking:  “We’re the good guys so this was harmless but just in case the bad guys copy us, use NoScript with Firefox: noscript.net.”

Since their emergence on the hactivist scene in 2011, the SEA has caused disruption to numerous websites, but they are best known for hacking Twitter account of the Associated Press’ in April 2013. The group posted a tweet claiming that Barack Obama had been injured, causing Dow Jones Industrial Average to immediately plunge 143 points in response.

Meanwhile in Egypt, a copycat group has risen and is targeting ISIS and its online propaganda. In late November, less than 24 hours after ISIS social media accounts posted a threatening message from the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the Egyptian Electronic Army (EEA) replaced the audio recording with a song, and replaced the ISIS transcript with a logo resembling that of the Egyptian military, accompanied by a writing in Arabic that read “Egyptian Cyber Army.”

The modus-operandi was nearly identical to the methods used by the Syrian Electronic Army, which has inspired the group. However the hacktivists do not have any connection to one another.  According to a spokesman for the group, a man claiming to be a 37-year-old former Cairo police officer who goes by the name “Khaled Abubakr”, the EEA group’s members are all Egyptian. Many come from a military or police background, and all support the Egyptian government led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It is unclear whether the group is state sanctioned.

The EEA seeks to defend al-Sisi’s governments against opponent such as the Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS. The broad anti-ISIS perspective in the nation has brought a mass of hacktivists to the group who want to counter the terrorist group’s influence on the Internet. The spokesman said that Baghdadi “was delivering a message to all extremists all over the Middle East and my country that you have to use your weapons in the faces of the government and our people, so we took it down and replaced it with a very popular song. All the people instead of hearing this pig heard our song and laughed.”

The group has also claimed to have infiltrated top ISIS web forums, and American pro-democracy websites including the Open Society Foundation and the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative, however there is no solid evidence of these activities. A security researcher says that some of the EAA’s supporters appear to have highly capable technical background.

The EAA has refused to disclose how the attack was conducted. A spokesman for the Internet Archive said that no outside account “made any modifications” to the files other than the original uploader. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that the account was taken over by the hackers. The group claims they will continue to conduct hacktivist activities. The EAA spokesman said, “We have our people spying on al-Furqan, [the media arm of ISIS] which is the media of the terrorists and this will not be the last thing we are going to do. They must expect us any time.”

ISIS declares Sinai as the new destination for young fighters

3  December- The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant and the Sham(ISIS) are conducting a marketing strategy which recommends the Sinai as a destination for young militant recruits. The move comes after Sinai-based terrorist group Ansar Beit al Maqdis (Ansar Jerusalem), swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on 10 November. Soon thereafter, Ansar Beit al Maqdis began to refer to itself as “the Islamic State’s province in the Sinai”. ISIS has envisioned a caliphate stretching from Iraq to the Mediterranean. While ISIS does not have any actual control in the Sinai, the announcement is an attempt to marginalise other militants, perhaps to convince them to pledge allegiance to Baghdadi as well. ISIS supporters are calling on fighters globally to help Baghdadi’s organization build up its presence in the Sinai even further.

ISIS has made use of the Al Battar Media Establishment and the Media Front in Support of the Islamic State, two radicalised publishing establishments that deliver propaganda through social media. Each has posted a six-page article on Twitter written by a fighter known as “Abu Musab al Gharib”, who argues that the establishment of the Islamic State’s province in the Sinai will lead to greater unification of ISIS groups across the Middle East and North Africa. In November, ISIS gained total administrative control over Derna in the Eastern Province of Libya, and has set up training facilities in the mountainous regions in order to train North African fighters. By creating a unified front, Gharib ominously states, it will become easier for the jihadists to advance on Jerusalem and engage in the “liquidating” of the Jews in Egypt, Golan, Jordan, and Lebanon.

ISIS’s expansion has increased already existing tensions with other militant organisations. Al Qaeda has appeared to be at odds with the group and has competed for militants in “recruitment drives”, even opening a branch in Southeast Asia. Baghdadi and ISIS claim that their “caliphate” has usurped the authority of terrorist organisations in Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. However the most organised and strong among these groups have not given over to Baghdadi. However despite the hindrance of competing terrorist organisations, reports indicate that ISIS’s campaign has been successful. Foreign fighters from the Levant, North Africa, Yemen, and elsewhere have travelled to the Sinai for training and other purposes.

Worryingly, the Sinai group appears to be increasingly active. Over the last weekend of November, Ansar Beit al Maqdis, under their new moniker, claimed to have killed an American oil worker. On Sunday, the group published an image on Twitter of a passport and two identification cards belonging to William Henderson, a 58-year-old employee of the Apache Corporation and Qarun Petroluem Co. Henderson was thought to have been killed in a carjacking incident in August.

It is uncertain whether Ansar Beit al Maqdis was actually responsible for the killing or just claiming it; the US State department is still investigating Henderson’s death and the US Embassy in Cairo has not disclosed any information. However the claim raises international concern that Sinai based radicals may begin to expand their targets beyond Egyptian military and security forces, or may even begin seeking Westerners for kidnap for ransom, or to send a visible political message.

Bombings In Egypt; Protests Expected

20 November 2014– Nine people have been wounded in two bombing incidents in Cairo. Five police officers were injured in an explosion targeting a police outpost near Helwan University in Southern Cairo. Reports from the interior ministry indicate that the assailants threw an incendiary explosive device (IED) from a speeding car as they approached the university.

Earlier today, four Egyptians were wounded in a stampede following a stun grenade detonation at Ramses railway station in Central Cairo. Outside of Cairo, three state transport buses were set ablaze in Sharqiya province. The buses were empty; no injuries were reported.

The series of incidents today is part of a string of attacks that have been conducted in Egypt over recent weeks. On 13 November, sixteen people were wounded when a bomb detonated near a metro train during rush hour. In early November, four people were killed in an explosion on a train carriage in Menoufiya, north of Cairo.

While no one has taken responsibility for the incidents earlier today, militant groups have been targeting security forces around the country since the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Ansar Beit al Maqdis has conducted several bombings and shootings of police and military forces. The group predominantly operates in North Sinai but occasionally targets major cities in the Nile Valley. In mid-November, Ansar Beit al Maqdis announced that they had sworn allegiance to ISIS. A second militant group known as Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) also operates in Cairo and has claimed responsibility for several attacks targeting security forces.

Meanwhile, security forces have arrested a Mohammed Ali Bishr, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, now deemed a terrorist organisation by the Egyptian government. Bishr’s arrest was linked to a call for demonstrations at the end of November, however the group organising the demonstrations is Salafi Front. The government has conducted heavy crackdowns against the Muslim Brotherhood since August 2013. The crackdown has given rise to heavy, sometimes violent protests, particularly around universities throughout the nation. Security has been tightened around universities across Egypt; protests supporting former President Morsi have increased in number since the school year began in October. In the past academic year, at least 14 students died in clashes with security forces on campus. In the wake of Bishr’s arrest, it is likely that protests will continue to rise. Heavy clashes are likely on the last Friday of November.