Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula

Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula
Participant in Sinai insurgency, Egyptian crisis (2011–14) and the Global War on Terrorism
Shahada flag
Active	November 2011 (2011-11) – present
Ideology	Salafist jihadism
Leaders	Mohammed Eid Muslih Hamad (Unknown-2011) (POW)[1] Ramzi Mowafi (2011-present)[2]
Headquarters	Rafah and Arish[3][4]
Area of operations	Sinai Peninsula
Strength	Under 40 (2011 Egypt estimate)[5]
Part of	Al-Qaeda
Allies	Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem[6]
Opponents	United States Armed Forces Egypt
Battles and wars	Sinai insurgency, Egyptian crisis (2011–14) and the Global War on Terrorism

Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula, or AQSP, is an Egyptian militant jihadist organization possibly formed by a merger between al-Qaeda operatives in Sinai and Ansar al Jihad. It is the branch of the Al-Qaeda in the Sinai peninsula.^[7]

Origins

Its unknown when al-Qaeda began to operate in Sinai, put in August 2011, a group claimed to be the Al-Qaeda wing in Sinai. In November 2011 Egypt police arrested an al-Qaeda operative named Mohammed Eid Muslih Hamad, a leader of an organization thought to be the affiliate of al-Qaeda in Egypt and that is responsible for many bombings and assassinations across the years. Also, in December 22 of 2011, a new jihadist group that calls itself Ansar al Jihad in the Sinai Peninsula has announced its formation in a statement and has vowed to “fulfill the oath” to the slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. “With this message we send you the good tidings of the birth of the group ‘Ansar al-Jihad in the Sinai Peninsula,’ and we pledge unto Allah the Great and Almighty to do our best to fight the corrupt regime and its henchmen among the Jews, the Americans, and those around them,” the statement said. The terror group pledged “to fulfill the oath of the martyr of the Ummah, our Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him”. However, is not sure that al-Qaeda branches in Egypt like Ansar al Jihad and Hamad's group are directly corporate, although the Ansar al Jihad oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda.^[7]

Leadership

Reports have surfaced from a remote part of Egypt that Osama bin Laden’s former personal Doctor is leading Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula. According to reports, sources have told several Egyptian media outlets that Ramzi Mowafi has been leading a group responsible for numerous attacks in the lawless Sinai Peninsula over the past two years. Reports say that Mowafi – who is believed to also be an explosives expert – was spotted in the Sinai in August 2011 providing military training to a number of people. Mowafi is also believed to have worked on chemical weapons for Al Qaeda and was involved in a January 2011 prison break that allowed former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to escape with other senior leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood. However, public information about Mowafi is limited. The report from 2011 is significant because Mowafi was seen on the Sinai about the same time that Al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula's Ansar al Jihad is declared its foundation, and the al-Qaeda logo have been appeared in various mosques in the area and a is considered, that the Mowafi is the Emir of Al Qaeda in the Sinai.^[8][9] In October 21, 2014, the United States Department of State designated Mowafi a specially designated global terrorist, because of his long time role in al-Qaeda organization, and for his group terrorist activities during the Sinai insurgency.^[10]

Timeline

• August 2, 2011: A group claiming to be the Sinai wing of Al-Qaeda declared its intention to create an Islamic caliphate in the Sinai.
• August 12, 2011: Egyptian military and intelligence officials said they were preparing to launch an operation against al Qaeda cells that had recently been established in the restive Sinai peninsula.^[11]
• November 13, 2011: Egyptian police arrested the head of al Qaeda’s branch in the Sinai, Mohammed Eid Muslih Hamad, in El Arish. He has been behind six bombings of a pipeline to Israel and Jordan.^[12]
• December 22, 2011: Ansar al Jihad, the fighter arm of al-Qaeda in Sinai, declared formation in a statement.^[7]
• January 24, 2012: Ansar al Jihad swore and officially its allegiance to al-Qaeda's second Emir after Bin Laden's death, Ayman al-Zawahiri.^[13]
• August 5, 2012: al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula and other Qaeda affiliates, overrun an Egyptian Army outpost on Israeli border kiling more than 10 Egypt soldiers.^[14]
• September 12, 2012: militants raising al-Qaeda flags attacked an UN peacekeepers base in Sinai.^[15]
• April 23, 2013 – Egyptian authorities seized explosives in a desert area in Sinai near the Gaza Strip border, a security official said. The explosives were believe to be owned by al-Qaeda.^[16]
• July 17, 2013: Its reported that Ramzi Mowafi is heading the al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula.^[9]
• January 21, 2014 – Egyptian army destroyed tunnels, captured tree, and bombarded two houses, of suspected AQSP militants, in the Sinai region. They also arrested a suspected militant in al-Sakaska village west of el-Arish and five people in Beir al-Abed.^[17]
• October 21, 2014 – The U.S State department designated Mowafi a special global terrorist for his role in al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula.^[18]
• March 11, 2016: Hisham Ali Ashmawi, a former Egyptian special forces officer who is openly loyal to al Qaeda in Sinai, released an audio message in which he called on scholars to support al-Qaeda's cause in the region.^[19]

References