Just after 1 a.m. on Dec. 24, a massive explosion struck the Daqahliya security directorate in Mansoura, Nile Delta. Video and photos from Mansoura showed an explosion far larger than what was seen in Ismailia on Dec. 12. The exact cause of the explosion in Mansoura has yet to be determined, though early reports have suggested a car bomb.
The explosion, which killed at least 12 people and injured around 130, also caused a nearby bank building to collapse and destroyed a number of vehicles, state-run MENA reported. “Most of those killed were among policemen inside the security headquarters whose bodies were buried under the debris,” the Associated Press reported.
The number of wounded is the most in a single attack since the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi in early July. Among the wounded are two top security officials, Reuters reported, citing state TV. MENA identified the two officials as Daqahliya security chief Major General Samy el-Mehy and Director of the Investigation Department Brigadier Said Emara.
The attack comes roughly a day after the Sinai-based jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) called on members of the security forces to repent and leave their positions. Ansar Jerusalem concluded its message by warning that those in the security forces who do not leave will have no one “to blame but himself.” “[W]e are the most resolute and determined to carry out the command of Allah and His Messenger to do jihad against you and fight you until all the religion is for Allah,” the group declared.
This is the not the first time that attacks have been reported in Mansoura since Morsi’s overthrow. On July 23, a bomb attack at a police station in Mansoura killed one person and wounded 19. More recently, on Oct. 28, three policemen were killed in a shooting attack on a checkpoint in the city.
Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been more than 260 reported attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, most of which were carried out against Egyptian security forces and assets, according to data maintained by The Long War Journal.
Attacks by Sinai-based jihadists, Ansar Jerusalem specifically, have also taken place in the Egyptian mainland. On Sept. 5, the jihadist group carried out an assassination attempt in Nasr City on Egypt’s interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim. A month later, an Ansar Jerusalem suicide bomber unleashed a blast at the South Sinai Security Directorate in el Tor, which killed three security personnel and injured more than 45. On Oct. 19, the Sinai-based jihadist group targeted a military intelligence building in the city of Ismailia. And on Nov. 19, the group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack on Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Mabrouk, a senior national security officer, in Cairo. Ansar Jerusalem has repeatedly stated its intent to target police and military headquarters in Egypt.
The al Furqan Brigades, which are not believed to be based in the Sinai, have also claimed responsibility for a number of shootings and rocket attacks in the Egyptian mainland since Morsi’s overthrow. In contrast to Ansar Jerusalem, the group has yet to claim responsibility for any large car or suicide bombings.
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off topic Merry Christmas everyone.
The Internet rumor mill implicates Iran as the major ordnance supplier to Hamas — via Sudan and the Sinai.
The story goes that Sudan lands major shipments direct from Iran… which are broken down into modest loads… whence sent by ‘high speed’ small craft to land on Sinai beaches. From there, the ordnance is trucked/ auto’d up to the Gaza border crossings, after which crews tote it under via tunnels — at a very great profit.
The Sudanese connection is so blatant that Israel has been blamed for exploding convoys (ordnance) in Sudan… presumably from drone strikes.
(Israel invented modern drone warfare — not the USA — remember the 1982 air war against Syria?)
Egypt is going to have to entirely shut down this route, ASAP.
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This atrocity ‘attack’ is proof that Egypt is going to have to assume an aggressive posture against the fanatics well beyond the Sinai.
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The Cuban mission to the UN has had more bomb threats over the years than you can count. Consequently, the NYPD has a special detail that cordons off all adjacent street parking — 24 hours a day — 365 days a year.
As a short term stop gap, the Egyptians are going to have to cordon off all of their police stations — and other juicy targets — like large bank offices and hospitals.
Prior experience has shown that the fanatics target such critical nodes. (Kabul: bank siege… Pakistan, Iraq: hospitals)
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The fanatics conduct feral warfare — brigandage — piracy — totally lawless amoral behavior. They are enemies of all mankind. No-one is safe with these fanatics running loose.
Their depredations destroy the economy of every society they touch. This modern outbreak is hardly unique. Based upon history, much higher levels of deterrence are required to sway the fanatics. If the tide is not turned, entire nations can fall — and have fallen.
All economies are based upon trading and networks. An economic transaction is, by definition, a trading transaction — buying and selling: goods, services, labor, assets, rights, etc. Sustained trading — chain trading — involves networks of people — with some more critical to the trading/ economy than others. Really intense traders/ connectors function as nodes in the network.
This is made visibly obvious by Facebook, Linked-In and the rest of digital socialization.
The entire strategic gambit of the fanatics is to target critical nodes — KEY players. When successful, such injuries have entirely outsized effects.
In the conventional military arts this occurs when a headquarters unit is disrupted or destroyed.
In American military parlance, such attacks have a multiplier effect.
The Germans ran wild in Russia, 1941, because Soviet HQs could be radio located and dive-bombed by Ju 87Stukas. This paralyzed the subsidiary formations — which the Germans could merely bypass until they surrendered — lacking food and ordnance.
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The Egyptian army has a real civil war on its hands — and must move to protect its critical nodes, ASAP.
Some attempt must be made to sweep through all logical ordnance hiding spots — especially in the Sinai — while the weather is favorable.
I should expect a multi-year campaign.
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Might I suggest a variation on “America’s Most Wanted”?
This would combine TV with digital media (YouTube clone) so that the general public can be made aware of known murderous fanatics.
Based upon America’s 1930’s crime wave, the criminals HATE that kind of publicity. It forces them to hole-up. It cramps their style, their effectiveness.