Al-Qaeda’s central leadership has released a statement lauding attacks against Jewish targets and recognizing the anti-Israel protests in Western countries and universities.
A new Sinai-based organization calling itself Kataib al-Farouq calls for attacks against Israel.
The man reportedly traveled from Egypt to Kenya, where he planned to use Shabaab facilitators to cross into Somalia. The American citizen was motivated by his support of Hamas and desire to target the U.S. for its support of Israel.
The U.S. announces the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian as Houthi attacks have ground international shipping transiting the Red Sea through the Suez Canal to a halt as multiple shippers are now bypassing the dangerous waterway. It is unclear if the operation will be offensive or defensive in nature.
Militants restart their low-tech campaign of violence at the Gaza border.
Islamic State attacks in the Sinai persist despite Egyptian military operations against it.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) claims to have captured Hisham al-Ashmawy, a former Egyptian officer who defected to the jihadists’ cause. Ashmawy has been accused of orchestrating jihadist operations in both Egypt and Libya. The Egyptian government alleges that he has been involved in a series of terrorist attacks targeting officials.
Harakat Sawa’id Misr (HASM) and Liwa al-Thawra are Islamist groups are suspected of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The two groups have targeted Egyptian police, military forces, and government officials.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack outside of a Coptic Church in a southern suburb of Cairo earlier today. The assault is one in a series of operations targeting Coptic Christians in Egypt since 2016.
The Islamic State’s so-called Sinai province launched a lethal assault on an Egyptian military outpost in the northern Sinai earlier today. It may be the deadliest attack on Egyptian forces in the peninsula since July 1, 2015. More than 20 soldiers, including several officers, were reportedly killed.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s massacre of at least 28 Coptic Christians traveling on a bus in Minya, Egypt. The group’s arms in both the Sinai and mainland Egypt have repeatedly targeted Copts. The Egyptian government has retaliated by bombing suspected training camps in Libya.
The ninth issue of the Islamic State’s Rumiyah (“Rome”) magazine features an interview with the group’s “emir” in Egypt. He concedes that the jihadists’ church bombings and ideology are not popular inside Egypt. Regardless, Rumiyah attempts to justify the Islamic State’s anti-Christian terror.
Islamic State gunmen shot and killed at least one Egyptian policeman near the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the southern Sinai late yesterday. Several others were reportedly wounded. The group’s Sinai “province” is waging a low-grade insurgency against the Egyptian government and claims to have executed scores of attacks this year.
The Islamic State has claimed credit for bombings at two Coptic churches in the Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria earlier today. The attacks killed dozens of people and wounded approximately 100 others. The so-called caliphate has a history of targeting Christians in Iraq, Egypt and Libya.
The Islamic State threatened further attacks in its “war on polytheism,” meaning against Christians and Jews, in Egypt and elsewhere. The group and its predecessor, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), have assaulted Coptic Christians in the past.
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri blasts the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in a newly-released audio message, saying the organization has adopted secular ways.
Hisham Ali Ashmawi, also known as Abu Umar al Muhajir, released an audio message earlier this month calling on Egyptian scholars to support jihadists in their fight against President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s government. Ashmawi, a former Egyptian special forces officer, leads an al Qaeda-linked group named Al Murabitoon.
Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah, an Egyptian held at Guantanamo since 2002, has been transferred to the Government of Bosnia. Despite compiling a lengthy dossier as an expert bomb maker on behalf of al Qaeda, US officials recommended that he be transferred. Al Sawah became a prolific source on al Qaeda and other detainees during his time in custody, and Joint Task Force – Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) concluded that his fellow jihadists may seek retribution if he tried to rejoin their ranks.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” claimed responsibility for a bombing at a hotel in the Sinai earlier today. The group continues to run a prolific insurgency and has proven it is capable of committing mass casualty terrorist attacks against civilians as well.
The Islamic State’s so-called Sinai “province” has issued at least three official claims of responsibility in the downing of a Russian airliner. The group has not explained how it allegedly brought down the jet, however. Egyptian officials dismiss the claims as “propaganda.” America’s top intelligence official has said a terrorist attack is “unlikely,” but possible.
In a newly released audio message, Ayman al Zawahiri calls for unity to “liberate” Jerusalem. Zawahiri argues that the jihadists must strike the West and build Islamic states in the Levant and Egypt in order to achieve this goal.
A group called Al Murabitoon has released a video featuring its emir, a former Egyptian special forces named Hisham Ali Ashmawi. He is wanted for a string of attacks in Egypt, including the assassination of Egypt’s chief prosecutor in late June. Al Murabitoon makes its loyalty to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri clear in the video.
The Islamic State released photographs purporting to show a “frigate” being struck by a guided rocket launched from the coast near Rafah. The Egyptian military said a coast guard vessel was hit during a firefight with “terrorists.” The Islamic State’s Sinai province has used Kornet anti-tank rockets as recently as two weeks ago.
The attack, which comes after coordinated assaults in the Sinai earlier this month, was claimed by the “Islamic State in Egypt” and not its “Sinai Province.” The Islamic State warned Muslims to avoid similar locations as they are “legitimate targets.”
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have issued eulogies for Hammam Attiyah, who led Ajnad Misr until his death earlier this month. Little is known about Attiyah, but the eulogies are a significant indication that Ajnad Misr operates as part of al Qaeda’s international network.
Muslim Brotherhood via Egypt court confirms death sentence for Muslim Brotherhood chief, 11 others
One of the Islamic State’s so-called “provinces” in Libya has claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in the Libyan town of Qubba earlier today. The group says the attacks were retaliation for the airstrikes carried out in nearby Derna.
Qatar recalls ambassador from Egypt in dispute over Libya airstrikes
Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after 21 Egyptians beheaded
The Islamic State has released a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers who were kidnapped in Libya. The lead fighter in the video seeks to intimidate Italy, saying his organization will conquer Rome. The group is also using the beheadings to portray al Qaeda’s leaders as being soft in their pursuit of jihad.