Terrorist activity by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has increased in recent weeks. Presumably the organization’s growing activity in Sinai, which is spilling over into Egyptian cities, is affected by the tightening of its relations with non-Egyptian terrorist organizations, headed by ISIS and Salafi jihadi affiliates from the Gaza Strip, and constitutes a strong challenge to the sense of security and stability of the el-Sisi regime. This is the background to the recently heightened activity by the Egyptian army against terrorism in Sinai. Relations between Egypt and the US have recently tightened, and the US is set to supply Apache helicopters to President al-Sisi’s army as an expression of partnership between the two countries in the campaign against terrorism.

The intensive terrorism campaign by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is concentrated mainly in northern and central Sinai, and recently also on the border with Libya. It comprises primarily attacks on soldiers, ambushes, improvised explosive devices, and attacks against the natural gas pipeline. The organization’s attacks are becoming more daring and more lethal, and some exhibit characteristics reminiscent of ISIS’s brutal style, including the cold-blooded execution of groups of Egyptian soldiers and beheading of all those regarded as traitors.

In this context, the closer connections between Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and ISIS over the past year are particularly noticeable. The Egyptian Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, whose founding declaration in late 2011 expressed public loyalty to al-Qaeda and its new leader, al-Zawahiri, apparently recently, at the demand of ISIS, transferred its loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who appointed himself caliph, thereby challenging al-Zawahiri’s leadership. The nature and depth of the connections between the organizations were recently clarified by the exposure of rare interrogation materials released by the Egyptian authorities, following the arrest of a senior operative in the Egyptian organization. The operative, Adel Habara, was formerly a senior commander in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization and one of al-Zawahari’s loyal followers. In August 2013, he commanded the attack and murder of some 25 Egyptian soldiers, shot in cold blood by their attackers. In the transcripts of conversations between leaders of the two organizations, it was learned that a senior Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis member had reported to their his ISIS colleague on the massacre they had committed, and had asked  for financing in return for logistics support, including Libyan documents and a pledge of allegiance.

ISIS has recently shown great interest in events in Libya, and seeks to exploit the anarchy in that divided country to obtain support from jihad organizations operating there. ISIS is using Libya as a springboard to countries on its borders, including Egypt. The Egyptians recently captured an ISIS squad attempting to penetrate Egypt from Libya. Note that Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is also operating in this area; as part of these operations, in late July 2014 its attack on an Egyptian position on the Libyan border cost the lives of 22 Egyptian soldiers.

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