Sinai insurgency: Difference between revisions
Gehirnstein (talk | contribs) Minor fix Tags: Reverted Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Gehirnstein (talk | contribs) No edit summary Tags: Manual revert Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
| result = Egyptian victory<ref>{{cite news|title=El Sisi says plans afoot to celebrate defeat of extremists in Sinai Peninsula|date=2 April 2023|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/egypt/2023/04/02/el-sisi-says-plans-afoot-to-celebrate-defeat-of-extremists-in-sinai-peninsula/}}</ref> |
| result = Egyptian victory<ref>{{cite news|title=El Sisi says plans afoot to celebrate defeat of extremists in Sinai Peninsula|date=2 April 2023|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/egypt/2023/04/02/el-sisi-says-plans-afoot-to-celebrate-defeat-of-extremists-in-sinai-peninsula/}}</ref> |
||
| place = [[Sinai Peninsula]], [[Egypt]] |
| place = [[Sinai Peninsula]], [[Egypt]] |
||
| status = |
| status = |
||
| coordinates = |
| coordinates = |
||
| map_type = |
| map_type = |
Revision as of 06:17, 25 August 2023
Part of a series on the Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) |
---|
![]() |
![]() |
The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians.[41] The insurgency began during the Egyptian Crisis, during which the longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[42]
The Sinai insurgency initially consisted of militants, largely composed of local Bedouin tribesmen, who exploited the chaotic situation in Egypt and weakened central authority to launch a series of attacks on government forces in Sinai, later on, militants of other nationalities also joined extremist groups in Sinai like: Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis and Libyans. In 2014, elements of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and proclaimed themselves Sinai Province, and a part of ISIL. Security officials say militants based in Libya have established ties with the Sinai Province group[43] and have blamed the porous border and ongoing civil war for the increase in sophisticated weapons available to the Islamist groups.[44]
Egyptian authorities have attempted to restore their presence in the Sinai through both political and military measures.[45] Egypt launched two military operations, known as Operation Eagle in mid-2011 and then Operation Sinai in mid-2012. In May 2013, following an abduction of Egyptian officers, violence in the Sinai surged once again. Following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, which resulted in the ousting of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, "unprecedented clashes" have occurred.[46]
The fallout suffered by the locals as a result of the insurgency in Sinai ranges from militant operations and the state of insecurity to extensive military operations and the demolishing of hundreds of homes and evacuating thousands of residents as Egyptian troops pressed on to build a buffer zone meant to halt the smuggling of weapons and militants from and to the Gaza strip. A report, compiled by a delegation from the state-funded National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), stated that most of the displaced families share the same grievances of palpable government negligence, unavailability of nearby schools for their sons and the lack of health services.[47] Since the start of the conflict, dozens of civilians were killed either in military operations or kidnapped and then beheaded by militants. In November 2017, more than 300 Sufist worshippers were killed and over 100 injured in a terrorist attack on a mosque west of the city of Al-Arish.[41]
Background
Sufism was previously dominant in the region before militant jihadi ideas began to take hold.[48] The Sinai Peninsula has long been known for its lawlessness, historically, it has served as a route for the smuggling of weapons and supplies. Security provisions in the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979 have mandated a diminished security presence in the area, enabling militants to operate with a freer hand. Moreover, the limited government-directed investment and development in Sinai has discriminated against the local Bedouin population, a population that values tribal allegiance over all else. The combination of Sinai's harsh terrain and its lack of resources have kept the area poor and hence, it is ripe for militancy.[49]
Following the January 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime, the country became increasingly destabilized, creating a security vacuum in the Sinai Peninsula. Radical Islamic elements in Sinai exploited the opportunity, using the region's unique environment, they launched several waves of attacks against Egyptian military and commercial facilities.
According to The Economist, the conflict also involves local armed Bedouins "who have long-standing grievances against the central government in Cairo" and that "they are barred from joining the army or police; they find it hard to get jobs in tourism; and they complain that many of their lands have been taken from them".[10]
Timeline
2011–2012
Since the 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime in Egypt, there has been increasing instability in the Sinai Peninsula. In addition, the collapse of the Libyan regime increased the quantity and sophistication of weapons being smuggled into the area.[45] The situation provided local Bedouin with an opportunity to assert their authority, leading to clashes with Egyptian security forces, but the cause of violence soon transitioned to salafi jihadism. Hard-line militant Muslims used Sinai as a launch-point for attacks against Israel and turned on the Egyptian state,[45] focusing on Egypt's security establishment and the Sinai's Arab Gas Pipeline.[50]
Operation Eagle
In August 2011, Egypt launched Operation Eagle in an effort to restore law and order, driving Islamist insurgents and criminal gangs out of North Sinai's urban centers,[51] and to attempt to sever the link between militant groups in the Sinai and Gaza by augmenting its control over the Gaza border crossing.[45]
The operation had limited success, and a week into the operation, Salafi jihadists carried out the biggest cross-border attack on Israel in the post-Mubarak period.
Operation Sinai
On 5 August 2012, an attack on the Rafah barracks shook the Egyptian military and population. Only a month into his term, President Mohamed Morsi sacked the longstanding defence minister and promoted General al Sisi in his place. Operation Sinai was launched, aimed at eliminating armed Islamist groups, protecting the Suez Canal, and destroying the tunnel network connecting the Sinai with the Gaza Strip.[45][52] During the operation, 32 militants and suspects were killed and 38 arrested, while 2 civilians were killed by early September 2012.[53]
2013–2014
Since the July 2013 coup against President Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, Egyptian military and security services in particular were targeted by Sinai-based Islamist groups. In an increase in violence, security forces came under near daily attack throughout July to August 2013.
In 2013, the new authorities adopted a more aggressive strategy, leading to mass arrests and harsh security measures.[45] Over the few months leading to 2014, the Egyptian army gained the upper hand in the battle against militias that had found safe haven in the peninsula. After isolating and largely clearing the populated northeastern Sinai, the army put many militant factions on the defensive, most notably Ansar Bait al-Maqdis. However, one thousand armed militiamen were still sheltering in the main stronghold in Jabal Halal, as well as Jabal Amer area.[54]
In November 2014, the situation in the Sinai was thrust into the spotlight with the deadliest attack on the security forces since 2011, and the group responsible Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forming the Sinai Province. In the wake of the attack on the security forces, the government declared state of emergency, imposing a curfew and establish a buffer zone in the Sinai's border area with Gaza.
May
May 2013 hostage crisis
In May 2013, a number of Egyptian Army police officers were taken hostage by armed tribesmen in the Sinai Peninsula, with videos released on the internet with them begging for their lives. As a response, Egypt's government built up security forces in northern Sinai as part of an effort to secure the release of six policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants. On 20–21 May, Egyptian troops and police, backed by helicopter gunships, conducted a sweep through a number of villages in northern Sinai, along the border with Israel.[55] The officials said the forces came under fire from gunmen in vehicles, triggering the clashes. The clashes left one gunman dead by 21 May.[55] The hostages were released on 22 May after talks between the captors and Bedouins.[56] One suspect in the kidnapping was arrested on 30 May 2013.[56]
July
July 2013 escalation following Morsi ousting
After Morsi's ouster on 3 July by Sisi, there was an increase in violence by armed Bedouin and Islamists.[10][46] Attacks on security forces took place almost daily — leading many to link the militants there to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which Morsi hails.[57]
In response, Egypt launched a major military operation in Sinai against the militants, bringing in two additional battalions.[58]
In the two weeks following 3 July, 39 terrorist attacks occurred in North Sinai. In the resulting clashes between armed groups and security forces, 52 gunmen and civilians and six security personnel died.[59] On 15 July, a bus transporting workers to the army-operated Al-Arish Cement Company was attacked leaving five killed and 15 wounded, the highest civilian casualties. On 16 July, attacks resulted in some of the most intense army engagement, concentrated at Al-Masa'id, Al-Joura, and the Central Security camp at Al-Ahrash.[59]
Security operations have been largely confined to the 40-kilometre area between Al-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, extending northward toward Rafah along the border with Israel and up to the Karen Abu Salem crossing.[59] Fighting intensified between the gunmen and the joint army-police forces at night.[59] The frequency of attacks varied from two to five in a single day. In addition, targets expanded from fixed security checkpoints to mobile patrols. In most operations, the gunmen used four-wheel drive vehicles and combinations of light and heavy weaponry. However, in three attacks RPG-7 launchers were used, most likely smuggled from Libya. These grenades are capable of penetrating armoured vehicles and are generally fired at the doors.[59]
On 27 July, an operation dubbed "Desert Storm" was launched by the Egyptian army in North Sinai Governorate to last for 48 hours. Two of Egypt's field armies, as well as the country's air force and navy reportedly took part in the large-scale operation. The military were said to have blocked all the roads, bridges and tunnels leading from Northern Sinai to other provinces.[citation needed]
A bomb was placed at a hotel frequented by security officials on 2 August 2013, though it caused no injuries.[60] A security source told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that a majority of "terrorists" had been arrested as of 3 August 2013.[61] 2 mausoleums were bombed on 4 August 2013, though no injuries resulted.[62]
Twenty-five Egyptian policemen died in an attack in the northern region of Sinai, on 18 August. After militants forced two mini-buses carrying off-duty policemen to stop, ordered the policemen out and forced them to lie on the ground before shooting them.[63] The Egyptian military arrested eleven people, including five Hamas members, three local residents and three foreign nationals, for their alleged involvement in the killings.[64] The person who committed the murders confessed on 1 September 2013.[65]
Military spokesperson Ahmed Ali said that Egyptian security forces operations in Sinai, from 5 July to 23 August, resulted in 78 suspected militants killed, including 32 foreigners; 116 people injured; and 203 people arrested, including 48 foreigners, for their alleged involvement in attacks on security checkpoints in the peninsula. Additionally 343 tunnels on the border with Gaza at Rafah were destroyed.[66][67]
September
On 3 September, fifteen Islamist militants were killed in an attack by military helicopters.[68]
On 7 September, the Egyptian army launched a new operation in the region involving tanks and at least six Apache helicopters. The army jammed communications to thwart militant coordination.[69] The army combed through areas near the Gaza Strip, including locations used by militants suspected in the killing and abduction of Egyptian soldiers over the past year. In the three days of operations, after 7 September, one officer, two soldiers and 29 militants were killed, and 39 militants arrested.[70][71]
On 11 September, a suicide bomber targeted Egyptian military intelligence headquarters in Rafah, bringing down the structure, at the same time a car bomb had rammed an army checkpoint. In the simultaneous attack at least nine soldiers were killed.[70]
December
On 24 December 16 were killed and over 134 injured in a huge bomb which hit the Daqahliya Security Directorate in Mansoura, in the worst attack on a government site since the ouster of Morsi in July. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group deemed Egyptian troops infidels because they answer to a "secular government", warning them to desert or face death.[72][73]
January
2014 helicopter downing
On 26 January, militants shot down an army Mi-17 helicopter in North Sinai, killing all five of its crew members. The weapon the insurgents used was an infrared-homing, surface-to-air missile from the Russian-made Igla family. This was the first time in Egyptian history that an armed nonstate actor dropped a state's military helicopter by a missile.[74] Ansar Bait al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for this attack as well as series of escalating attacks on police and soldiers.[75] Earlier that morning masked men in an SUV attacked a bus carrying soldiers in Sinai, killing at least three and injuring at least 11.[75]
February
On 3 February, in what was described as the biggest operation in the Egyptian army's ongoing offensive against militants in the Sinai, 30 suspected militants were killed and another 15 injured in a series of airstrikes and another 16 were arrested.[76]
2014 Taba bus bombing
On 16 February 2014, a bomb exploded on or under a tour bus of a South Korean church group in the Egyptian city of Taba, which borders the Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Israel. The bombing killed 4 people – 3 South Koreans and the Egyptian bus driver – and injured 17 others.[77] According to The New York Times, the bombing could "offer worrying new evidence that militants who have been attacking Egypt's security forces for months were broadening their campaign against civilians."[78]
October
October 2014 Sinai attacks
On 24 October 2014, 33 army and police soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in North Sinai.[79] The attack was the largest ever since the start of the war on terror in Sinai. As a result of the attack, president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a state of emergency in the governorate after meeting with the National Defence Council for several hours. The state of emergency was to last for three months and to include a daily curfew from 5 pm to 7 am until further notice.[80]
November
On 10 November 2014, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forming the Sinai Province group with a confusingly similar name to two Egyptian regional governments.[81]
On 14 November 2014, ISIL published a video online that included footage of the group carrying out the October 2014 Sinai attacks.[82]
2015
During 2015, the intensity and the scale of insurgent attacks expanded.
January
On 12 January 2015, Sinai Province kidnapped a police officer while traveling in North Sinai and took him to an unknown location. On the following day on 13 January 2015, Egyptian military spokesperson announced the discovery of the dead body of the officer after launching a search operation. He also said that during the operation 10 militants were killed, while two others were arrested.[83]
On 26 January 2015, Sinai Province published a video online that included the kidnapping and execution of the police officer kidnapped on 12 January.[84]
January 2015 Sinai attacks
On 29 January 2015, militants from the Sinai Province militant group launched a series of attacks on army and police bases in Arish using car bombs and mortars.[85] The attacks, which occurred in more than six different locations, resulted in 44 confirmed deaths including army personnel and civilians.[86][87]
Security response
It was reported that on 6 February 2015 Egyptian security forces attacked the Sinai Province group, killing 47 Islamic militants in Northern Sinai.[88]
March
On 10 March 2015, a suicide attack on a police barracks using a water tanker was stopped after security forces opened fire on the water tanker causing it to explode before it could get into the barracks. One civilian near the scene was killed and two other civilians alongside 30 policemen were wounded in the blast.[89]
April
On 2 April 2015, an attack on an army checkpoint resulted in the death of 15 soldiers, 2 civilians and 15 attackers. As a response to the attack, the Egyptian army launched an operation the following day allegedly killing 100 militants.[90][91]
On 8 April 2015, eleven civilians were killed in Sheikh Zuweid when an unidentified rocket-propelled grenade hit their homes. A roadside bomb killed two officers in the same city.[92]
On 12 April 2015, 6 soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle was bombed in North Sinai. On the same day, a separate attack on a police station in Arish resulted in the death of 5 policemen and 1 civilian. 40 were also injured, both policemen and civilians. The attack on the station was carried out by a suicide-bomber using a bomb-laden van, on which the police forces opened fire, causing a large explosion which reportedly created a large crater and shattered house windows near the police station. Militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for the attacks.[93]
On 27 April 2015, members from Al-Tarabin tribe in North Sinai launched an attack on Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis positions in Rafah.[94] The attack came after Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis gunmen fatally shot a member of Al-Tarabin tribe in Berth village in southern Rafah, North Sinai, after he refused to take their warning statements ordering them not to deal with the Egyptian military.[95]
May
On 16 May 2015, three Egyptian judges and their driver were killed, and a fourth judge was severely wounded when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in North Sinai. The attack came hours after a Cairo court issued a preliminary death sentence against former president Mohamed Morsi and 105 other defendants on a range of charges, including murder.[96]
June
On 9 June 2015, militants fired rockets at the direction of an airport in Sinai used by the multinational peacekeeping forces. There were no casualties reported. ISIL affiliate Sinai Province claimed responsibility for the attack on several Twitter accounts linked to it.[97]
July
July 2015 Sinai attacks
On 1 July 2015, ISIL Sinai Province militants launched one of the largest-scale battles seen in the Sinai Peninsula since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the largest attack since the insurgency begun in 2011, on multiple Egyptian army checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 21 soldiers and wounding 9. However, unknown Egyptian security and medical officials reported that up to 64 soldiers had been killed in the attacks.[98][99] The attack also targeted Sheikh Zuweid police station. Reinforcements from the Second Army Zone stationed in Ismailia have been deployed to Sheikh Zuweid, including Apache helicopters and F-16 fighter jets. Militants have reportedly killed several civilians who refused to allow them onto their rooftops to target security forces.[100] An army statement claimed the killing of more than 100 militants from the attacking force. The militant death toll increased in the following days, due to Egyptian military operations in the region, reaching 241 killed.[101]
On 4 July 2015, a shell bomb struck a house in Sheikh Zuweid, killing a woman and her two children, the shell also seriously wounded another woman and a teenage girl. On the same day, a roadside bomb targeting army and police vehicles killed a five-year-old child in Rafah town that borders the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Three other children and a woman were also wounded in the blast.[102]
On 15 July 2015, twenty militants were killed as security forces repelled an attack on a security checkpoint in North Sinai.[103]
On 16 July 2015, Sinai Province militants attacked an Egyptian navy patrol ship near the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip. The patrol ship was hit by a guided missile. The Egyptian military confirmed the incident and said in a statement that there are no fatalities among the vessel's crew. Huge fireball and then black heavy smoke over the sea were seen at the scene, and witnesses reported seeing other navy vessels rescuing the crew. The attack is considered the first maritime attack of ISIL and its allied militant groups.[citation needed]
On 23 July 2015, an officer and three soldiers were killed and three others were wounded when an improvised roadside bomb hit their armoured vehicle in a village near the town of Rafah.[104]
On 24 July 2015, the Egyptian army said it has killed 12 terrorists and destroyed two warehouses storing explosive materials.[105]
On 31 July 2015, the Egyptian military bombed areas of the North Sinai towns of al-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, killing 20 suspected militants.[106]
August
On 1 August 2015, Egyptian army forces surrounded the home of a leading figure of the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, before shooting him dead.[26]
September
On 3 September 2015, four American and two Fijian Multinational Force and Observers troops were wounded in an attack involving two IEDs.[107][108]
Operation Martyr's Right
On 8 September 2015, the Egyptian military launched a major operation code-named "The Martyr's Right". The operation is the largest and most comprehensive operation aimed at rooting out and killing terrorists since July's immediate response to militant attacks. The operation targeted sites in Rafah, Arish, and Sheikh Zuweid, all towns in the northern areas of the peninsula.[109] 535 militants were killed in September 2015.[110]
On 13 September 2015, a Fijian soldier attached to the Multinational Force and Observers was wounded by small arms fire.[111]
October
Downing of Russian passenger plane
On 31 October 2015, a Russian passenger jet disintegrated above the northern Sinai, killing all 224 aboard.[112] The Islamic State's Sinai Province claimed responsibility for the incident. Russian, Egyptian, and western investigators concluded that the plane was brought down by a bomb planted at Sharm Al Sheikh Airport.[113] It was the deadliest air disaster both in the history of Russian aviation and within Egyptian territory at the time.
December
On 8 December, a bomb in Rafah killed four soldiers and injured four others.[citation needed]
2016
Insurgent attacks increased in early 2016, nearly doubling between the last quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2016.[114] However, according to The Times of Israel, the numbers of attacks and casualties was declining by August 2016.[115]
March
On 19 March, an attack on a checkpoint in Arish killed 13 policemen.[116]
April
Another attack on 7 April killed 15 soldiers and two civilians.[117][118]
May
In May, Egyptian security forces launched an air attack on Jabal Halal, a region with an extensive cave system that was a major insurgent stronghold. According to the Egyptian military, 88 militants were killed and many supply caches were destroyed.[115]
June
On 28 June, A series of air strikes killed 30 ISIS fighters and injured 50 others.[119]
August
Then, on 4 August, the army claimed to have killed the leader of Sinai Province, Abu Duaa al-Ansari.[120] Independent sources were unable to verify this claim, or even the existence of al-Ansari.[120][121] Previous reports had described Abu Osama al-Masri as the leader.[121]
September
The army reported another 40 militants killed by airstrikes in September.[citation needed]
October
On 14 October a total 12 soldiers and 15 militants were killed.[122] On 17 October several clashes in North Sinai left 3 soldiers and 18 insurgents dead.[123] On 30 October a military operation in North Sinai left 4 soldiers and 6 insurgents dead.[124]
November
On 5 November Egyptian soldiers killed at least 11 terrorists.[125] On 10 November army soldiers killed at least 6 insurgents.[126]
2017
January
On 9 January 2017, an attack by several gunmen and a truck bomb on a police checkpoint in El-Arish causing at least 13 deaths and 22 injuries, according to official sources.[127] One of the attackers, drove a stolen rubbish truck loaded with explosive at the security checkpoint, as gunmen opened fire on police forces.[127]
April
Palm Sunday church bombings
In February 2017, ISIS produced a video calling for attacks against Christians.[128][129] In April, ISIS attacked several churches in Egypt Known as Palm Sunday church bombings. The attacks killed over 40 people.[130]
July
In July, a militant raid on an army checkpoint resulted in the deaths of at least 23 soldiers. The checkpoint was looted for weapons and ammunition before the attackers fled the scene.[131] Later that month an attack targeting police killed 5 officers and wounded 11 in the city of el-Arish. A later roadside bomb south of the city wounded a further 6 officers. The attacks came the same day officials claimed the Egyptian Air Force had killed at least 30 militants in strikes on a gathering.[132]
September
In September, officers were again attacked in el-Arish, with 18 killed and 7 wounded in an assault involving roadside bombs and small arms fire.[133]
November
Sinai mosque attack
On 24 November 2017, the Sufi al-Rawda mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed, North Sinai Governorate, Egypt was attacked by around forty gunmen during Friday prayers. The gun and bomb attack killed at least 235 people and injured more than 120, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Egyptian history and the second deadliest attack in 2017, after the 14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings.[134] Other reports of the attack assert that over 300 deaths occurred.[135]
December
On 19 December 2017, El Arish International Airport was attacked in an attempt to assassinate the Minister of Interior Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar and the minister of defense Sedki Sobhy. The assassination attempt failed and one officer was killed and two were injured.[136] ISIS used kornet anti-tank missile in the attack.[137] The next day, a new clash started near the airport where five ISIS militants were killed and an army captain was killed.[138]
2018
On 9 February 2018, Col. Tamer el-Refai, the military's spokesman, announced in a statement on state-run television, titled "Communique 1 from the General Command of the Armed Forces", the launching of Comprehensive Operation – Sinai 2018.
On 8 October 2018, Egyptian military declared in an operation they have killed 52 Islamist militants. Three Egyptian soldiers were also killed.[139]
2019
In May 2019, Human Rights Watch reported that throughout the operations in Sinai the "Egyptian military and police have carried out systematic and widespread arbitrary arrests—including of children—enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings, collective punishment, and forced evictions", based on interviews with dozens of Sinai residents.[140]
In November 2019, Egyptian forces killed 83 suspected fighters in operations in central and North Sinai.[141]
2020
From 2018 to 2020, 840 militants were killed by Egyptian Security Forces who lost 67 soldiers in return.[142] In March 2020, Egyptian forces managed to kill Abu Fares Al-Ansari, a commander of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, in Al Ajra' area south of Rafah.[143]
On 1 May 2020, ISIL claimed responsibility via its Amaq News Agency for a bombing that killed and wounded several Egyptian Army personnel near the city of Bir al-Abd in North Sinai Governorate.[144] In retaliation, Egyptian police managed to kill 18 extremist militants in a raid in northern Sinai Peninsula.[145]
On 21 July 2020, ISIS captured five villages in Sinai west of Bir al-Abd.[146]
On 26–28 August 2020, Egypt retook the fives villages and killed 73 ISIS operatives.[146]
2021
On 1 January 2021, a roadside bomb killed two members of Egypt's security forces and wounded five others near Bir al-Abd in the northern Sinai Peninsula.[147]
On 9 February 2021, local sources reported that six fighters of the tribal militias supporting the Egyptian regime had been killed and another fighter had been abducted in central Sinai in an ISIS ambush.[148]
On 22 February 2021, ISIS operatives fired at an Egyptian army patrol south of Sheikh Zuweid, near a roadblock. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded.[149]
On 27 February 2021, IS operatives exploded an IED targeting an Egyptian foot patrol. The explosion killed 3 Egyptian soldiers including a colonel, Ahmad Abdel Mohsen. One other soldier was also wounded.[150]
On 11 March 2021, IS claimed responsibility for killing a father and his son because they were 'collaborating' with Egyptian authorities.[151]
In March 2021, Human Rights Watch accused the Egyptian armed forces of violating international human rights law and committing war crimes by demolishing more than 12,300 residential and commercial buildings and 6,000 hectares of farmland since 2013 in North Sinai.[152]
On 22 March 2021, The Egyptian forces managed to eliminate Saleem Al-Hamadiin, a veteran commander of ISIS, in a joint operation with the local tribes in the village of Al-Barth, south of Rafah.[153]
On 5 April 2021, ISIL released photos showing the execution of an alleged spy, who was apparently working for the Egyptian authorities.[154]
On 17 April, ISIS released footage of them executing a Coptic Christian and 2 other tribal fighters. They issued the execution footage as a 'warning to the Christians of Egypt'. In the same release, they also released videos of sniping and IED attacks and an attack on Egyptian tribal forces, leaving at least 4 tribesmen dead.[155]
On 1 May, ISIS operatives broke into houses in Al-Amal, south of Al-Arish, searching for suspected collaborators with the Egyptian army. Being unable to find them, they executed three of their relatives[156]
On 30 May, Colonel Khaled Al-Arian was killed by an ISIS sniper attack on an Egyptian army patrol in Sheikh Zuweid, in northern Sinai. IS also released photos of them executing two alleged 'collaborators', supposedly working with the Egyptian army.[157]
On 4 June, an Egyptian officer was killed in Sinai: Ahmad Jum'ah, an intelligence officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, was killed in the detonation of an IED in northern Sinai. The attack was blamed on ISIS.[158]
On 14 June, a group of ISIS militants including a commander were killed during an Egyptian army raid on a farm in Bir al-Abd.[159]
On 31 July, ISIS militants ambushed a group of Egyptian soldiers at their security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid, northern Sinai. 5 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 6 more were wounded. 3 ISIS militants were also killed in the shootout.[160]
On 1 August, it was reported that 89 extremists were killed in northern Sinai, compared to eight Egyptian soldiers. Meanwhile, 13 tunnel entrances were destroyed at the borders with the Gaza Strip and Israel.[161]
On 9 August, an ISIS IED was activated south of Rafah against an Egyptian army vehicle killing Mohammad Abd Motagalli, an Egyptian army colonel.[162]
On 12 August, the Egyptian armed forces eliminated 13 terrorists in northern and central Sinai. 9 soldiers were killed and wounded during the exchange of fire.[163]
On 25 August 2 Egyptian soldiers were killed by ISIL snipers whilst conducting operations in northern Sinai.[164]
2022
On 8 May 2022, ten soldiers and one officer are killed during an attack at a checkpoint at a water pumping station in El Qantara,[165]
In November 18, dozens of IS fighters clashed with the Egyptian army on a government building in Al-Ismailia, in which resulted in killing and wounding 6 members of the Egyptian army and an airstrike on IS fighters.[166]
In December 1, IS soldiers killed and wounded 6 members of the Egyptian police in Al-Ismailia governorate.
In December 31, two gunmen killed and wounded 15 members of the Egyptian police in Al-Ismailia governorate.[167]
2023
On 25 January 2023, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi announced the end of the terrorism in the area of North Sinai governorate.[168]
On 29 January 2023 three children were killed in an explosion of a leftover mine.[169]
On 27 February 2023, unknown gunmen attacked, killed and wounded 3 members of the Egyptian army in South Sinai.[170]
On 2 June 2023 a soldier of the Egyptian Central Security Forces crossed over the Egypt–Israel border into Israeli territory, shooting three Israeli soldiers dead and injuring two others before he was killed in a shootout with the IDF.[171][172] Israeli commentators speculated that the soldier may have been influenced by Islamist ideology and might have been in contact with Sinai insurgents, but the Egyptian authorities provided little information on his background.
On 30 July, one Egyptian army colonel and two police men were killed in North Sinai.[173][174][175]
Areas of insurgency
According to Reuters, as of 2013, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was in control of about a third of the villages in Sinai.[176] Now, daily clashes with militants in North Sinai are reported by the army.[177] The insurgency has not spread to south Sinai, where there are tourist hubs. In the northeastern part of the peninsula, checkpoints have often been established by militants as the army lack the power to stop them. The militants have captured and assassinated policemen there.[178]
Outside Sinai
On 24 December 2013, sixteen people were killed and over a hundred people injured in a huge bomb which hit the Daqahliya Security Directorate in Mansoura. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the attack.[72]
On 5 August 2014, 5 policemen were killed in an attack on a police car on Matrouh road by armed militants.[179]
On 28 November 2014, the militant group Sinai Province claimed responsibility for the killing of 2 army personnel in Cairo and Qaliubiya.[180][181]
On 1 December 2014, Sinai Province claimed responsibility for killing a United States citizen in Egypt's western desert in August 2014.[182]
On 21 December 2014, the Egyptian police raided an Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis cell in the Nile Delta killing 5 members.[183]
On 26 December 2014, two Ansar Bait al-Maqdis militants were killed in a gunfight in El-Salam City, on the eastern outskirts of Cairo.[184] The Ministry of Interior later identified one of the dead militants as the commander of Ansar Beit El-Maqdis in the Nile Delta.
On 11 July 2015, a car-bomb exploded near the Italian consulate in Cairo, killing one person and injuring nine others. None of the Italian staff of the consulate were injured as the establishment was still closed at the time of the explosion. Later, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.[citation needed]
In the Gaza Strip
Out of the approximately 15 main militant groups operating in the Sinai desert, the most dominant and active militant groups have close relations with the Gaza Strip.[185] The Army of Islam, a U.S. designated terrorist organization based in the Gaza Strip, is responsible for training and supplying many militant organizations and jihadist members in Sinai.[185] Mohammed Dormosh, the Army of Islam's leader, is known for his close relationships to the Hamas leadership.[185] The Army of Islam smuggles members into the Gaza Strip for training, then returns them to the Sinai Peninsula to engage in terrorist and jihadist activities.[186]
Egyptian government's response
Military tactics
The disposition of Egyptian forces in the Sinai peninsula is mandated by the Camp David Accords and it is monitored by the 1,600 foreign troops who make up the Multinational Force and Observers. Egypt is only permitted to station enough military forces to enforce security in the Sinai.[187]
In 2011, Egypt sent an additional 2,500 troops and 250 armored personnel, with helicopters as part of Operation Eagle, a mission to provide security during the transition to power from the then-recently fallen Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.[188] Operation Eagle was joined by Operation Sinai in 2012, which came in response to a militant attack against an Egyptian border post 5 August that killed 16 border guards. Together, the two operations increased the total troop count by more than 2,500 added 80 vehicles and at least two attack helicopters. Egypt also was allowed to deploy armed fighter jets to El Arish to assist its ground forces in Sinai.[188][189]
Egypt's expanded force structure in Sinai is designed to deny militants sanctuary by bringing more force to bear than the municipal police can provide. Many of the new forces are stationed in the northeast of the Sinai along the Egyptian border with Gaza. They set up roadblocks and checkpoints in an attempt to monitor traffic and counter smuggling on the Sinai Peninsula.[188]
In the October 2014 attacks, the militants in Sinai used suicide truck bombs to breach army roadblocks and strongpoints for the first time, they immediately followed these attacks by launching an infantry attack.
After the October attacks, the Egyptian military began using armed drones for the first time since the Sinai insurgency began.[190] And as a measure to counter weapon and militant trafficking between Egypt and Gaza strip, the Egyptian government announced the creation of a buffer zone along the Egypt-Gaza border.[191]
Following the attacks on army and police bases in Arish in early 2015, the Egyptian President issued a decree to create a unified military command for the east of the Suez Canal to combat terrorism. Led by General Osama Roshdy Askar, it was to guide counter-terrorism activities of the Second and Third Armies.[192]
On 27 April 2015, Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab issued a decree ordering the isolation and evacuation of new areas in North Sinai's Rafah city, thus expanding the buffer zone.[193]
A shift in the militants strategy appeared in the July 2015 clashes. Zack Gold, Middle East analyst, views the battle as a change in strategy from hit and run tactics toward an ISIL-like 'holding' of territory.[194]
As an effort to limit car-bombs attacks, Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab issued a decree banning 4X4 vehicles in army-operations zones in Sinai.[195]
Following the mosque attack in November 2017, President el-Sisi vowed to respond with "the utmost force" and Egyptian authorities in the days immediately after the attack the Air Force claimed to have the pursued and destroyed of some of the militants' vehicles and weapons stocks.[196] Airstrikes were also conducted in the neighboring mountains.[197] In February 2018, the Egyptian military conducted major air strikes and land assaults against terrorist positions in Sinai.[198]
Egyptian forces occupied 37 schools and turned them into military bases. After the government took over the school, it failed to properly relocate the children. Students were denied access to education, and illiteracy levels increased. Besides, clashes between the army and armed groups destroyed 59 schools, three of which were attacked or destroyed by militants.[199]
Judicial response
The Egyptian government has used the death penalty to punish those convicted of committing terrorist acts in Sinai. On 26 December 2017, Egypt hanged 15 men convicted of killing nine soldiers during an attack on a military checkpoint in 2013.[200]
Alleged Israeli involvement
Extensive smuggling of migrants (mostly from African countries), drugs and contraband from Sinai into Israel, as well as kidnapping of migrants crossing the Sinai en route from Africa to Israel were commonplace in the past, serving as an important source of income for insurgent groups in the Sinai. The crisis in Egypt resulted in a rise in illicit and insurgent activities across the Egypt–Israel border, prompting Israel to construct the Egypt–Israel barrier, completed in 2013. This had the effect of practically eliminating illegal migrant crossing into Israel and significantly reducing cross-border insurgency and drug smuggling.[201]
On 16 October 2017, the Islamic State announced that it had fired rockets at Eshkol region in Israel, in response to 'Jewish aircraft' assisting Egyptian security forces.[202]
On 23 May 2018, the Islamic State released a video claiming that Israeli aircraft struck civilian homes in the Sinai and showed Hebrew labels on munitions purportedly found in aftermath of the attack.[203]
As of 3 February 2018, The New York Times wrote that the Israeli Defence Forces had conducted over 100 air strikes in Sinai,[1] which elicited an official denial from the Egyptian military.[204]
Reactions
Israel
In the two years following 2011, Israel approved two Egyptian military increases in the Sinai Peninsula above levels set in the Camp David Accords, which mandates that the Sinai must remain demilitarized, with only enough forces in Sinai to enforce security.[188][189][205] Israel did so because it is not in its interest to have unrest in Sinai, whether political protests or militant violence.[188]
However, in late 2012, concern began to be raised as Egypt began deploying more force and tanks without coordination from Israel. On 21 August, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that it is important for Israel to make sure that the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty is upheld, and not to remain silent as Egyptian military forces enter the Sinai. Concern was raised by Israeli officials over Egyptian failure to notify Israel about the deployment of tanks in the Sinai, which violates the peace treaty. Lieberman said, "We must make sure that every detail is upheld, otherwise we'll find ourselves in a slippery slope as far as the peace treaty is concerned."[206]
On the same day, Israeli daily Maariv reported that Israel sent a message to Egypt via the White House, protesting Egypt's ongoing increase in military presence in the Sinai without coordination from Israel, and telling Egypt that it must remove tanks from the Sinai because their presence violates the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty of 1979, which states that Sinai Peninsula is to remain demilitarized. The Maariv report was echoed by an article in The New York Times, which stated that Israel was "troubled" by the entry of Egyptian tanks into the northern Sinai Peninsula without coordination with Israel and had asked Egypt to withdraw them.[207] Partly due to Egypt's military deploying tanks in the Sinai Peninsula, Israel is increasingly worried about what has long been their most critical regional relationship.[208] The lack of coordination around their deployment is seen as potentially undermining a peace treaty that has been a cornerstone of Israel's security for decades according to The New York Times.[208] Israel is also concerned that Egypt may use Operation Eagle to build up its military presence in the Sinai, and leave the tanks and armored carriers in the Sinai while not doing much more than symbolic action to eliminate the terrorist threat.[209]
Israel has not issued a formal complaint, and instead prefers to resolve the issue through quiet contacts, as well as mediation from the U.S., to avoid straining its relationship with Egypt.[210]
On 24 August 2012, a senior Egyptian military source said that Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak have reached an agreement on the issue of the militarization of the Sinai. Al Hayat reported that Sissi phoned Barak and said that Egypt was committed to maintaining the peace treaty with Israel.[211] Sissi also said that the militarization was temporary, and was needed for security and to fight terrorism. However, an Israeli defense official denied that such a conversation took place.[212]
In late August 2012, Morsi said that the security operations do not threaten anyone, and "there should not be any kind of international or regional concerns at all from the presence of Egyptian security forces". Morsi added that the campaign was in "full respect to international treaties. The Egyptian-Israeli peace deal places limits on Egyptian military deployment in the Sinai. Officials in Israel were concerned about Egypt building up heavy armour in Sinai."[213]
On 8 September 2012, an Israeli official confirmed that coordination exists between Israel and Egypt regarding Operation Eagle. Egyptian Military spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Ali had earlier announced that Egypt has been consulting with Israel regarding its security measures in the Sinai.[214]
On 2 July 2015, one day after the attacks on 15[215] Egyptian Army checkpoints, Israel announced that it was giving Egypt a "free hand to operate in northern Sinai against local jihadist groups, voluntarily ignoring an annex to the 1979 Camp David Peace Accords banning the presence of significant Egyptian forces in the area."[216][217]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to Egypt for the terrorist attacks that rocked that country on 1 July. He further stated that "we are together with Egypt and many other states in the Middle East and the world in the struggle against extreme Islamic terrorism."[218]
As of 3 February 2018, The New York Times had claimed that Israel has conducted over a 100 air strikes in Sinai,[1] which has been denied by the Egyptian Military spokesman, Col. Tamer a-Rifai.[219]
On 8 November 2021, after a meeting between Egyptian and Israeli military commanders in Sinai, Israel agreed to a larger deployment of Egyptian troops near Rafah. The exact level of the troop increase was not immediately announced.[220][221]
United States
According to CNN, in a move to increase security in the Sinai, help Morsi, and reassure Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta offered Egypt classified intelligence-sharing capabilities to help Egypt identify military threats in the area, which he discussed during his recent trips to Egypt and Israel. The technology has been widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify vehicles at great distances. The technology may also be used by the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai. The United States is also offering increased intelligence sharing, including satellite imagery and drone flights, as well as cellphone intercepts and other communications among militants suspected of plotting attacks.[222]
On 22 August 2012, the State Department urged Egypt to be transparent over Operation Eagle and any security operations in the Sinai. The State Department said that the United States supports Operation Eagle against terrorism, but stressed that Egypt must continue coordination with Israel regarding these operations and military increases in the Sinai, according to the 1979 Camp David Accords.[223] The State Department also called on Egypt to fulfill its obligations under the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and deal strongly with security threats in the Sinai, while ensuring that "lines of communication stay open."[224]
On 23 August 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, urged Amr to maintain lines of communication with Israel, and emphasized the importance of being transparent over the militarization of the Sinai.[210]
Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai
The Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai, a 1,650-strong international organization created in 1979 during the Camp David Accords with peacekeeping responsibilities, kept a low profile during the intensification of Operation Eagle in 2012. A representative for the organization said that "we are unable to respond to queries from the media at this time" in response to whether Egypt asked permission to move weaponry into the Sinai, and whether Israel granted it.[225]
Jordan
The Egyptian pipeline carrying natural gas to Jordan has been attacked at least 15 times since the start of the uprising in early 2011.[226] The lack of Egyptian gas hit Jordan budget severely (by JOD 1.4 billion or the equivalent of US$2 billion yearly for the past two years) and they are looking for Egypt to compensate for the lost quantities.[227]
Other
A Mada Masr journalist questioned the accuracy of Interior Ministry reports on at least two accusations.[228] CBS journalist Clarissa Ward went undercover into the Sinai and witnessed evidence of a scorched earth policy.[229]
See also
- Arab Spring
- Arab Winter
- Gaza–Israel conflict
- Timeline of the Sinai insurgency
- List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
- List of wars and battles involving the Islamic State
- Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
- Boko Haram (or ISWAP) insurgency
References
- ^ a b c Kirkpatrick, David (3 February 2018). "Secret Alliance: Israel Carries Out Airstrikes in Egypt, With Cairo's O.K." The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
For more than two years, unmarked Israeli drones, helicopters and jets have carried out a covert air campaign, conducting more than 100 airstrikes inside Egypt, frequently more than once a week — and all with the approval of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi...Mr. Sisi's spokesman, Col. Ahmed Ali, denied it.
- ^ Adam Entous (11 June 2018). "Donald Trump's New World Order". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
Recently, cooperation among Israel and the Gulf states has expanded into the Sinai Peninsula, where M.B.Z. has deployed Emirati forces to train and assist Egyptian troops who have been fighting militants with help from Israeli military aircraft and intelligence agencies. U.A.E. forces have, on occasion, conducted counterterrorism missions in Sinai.
- ^ "The Most POWERFUL Militaries". YouTube.
- ^ "Perpetrators of second Rafah massacre arrested". Daily News Egypt. 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ^ "Egypt sentences 14 to death for 2011 Sinai attacks". The Times of Israel. 24 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ "Jihadists attack international peacekeeper base in Egypt's Sinai". FDD's Long War Journal. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Deadly attacks in Sinai highlight the region's growing instability". American Enterprise Institute. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Ansar al Sharia Egypt in the Sinai". FDD's Long War Journal. 6 July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Hassm expands armed operations from Sinai into Nile Delta". Mada Masr. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "Egypt's Sinai desert: A haven for malcontents". The Economist. 13 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Jund al Islam claims credit for Sinai suicide car bomb attacks". FDD's Long War Journal. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "(Allied) Popular Resistance Movement". Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Egypt army arrests head of Sinai radical militant group, dozens others". Ahram Online. 1 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ "Jaysh al-Islam". Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Al Furqan Brigades". Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Ajnad Misr". Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "'State of Sinai' claim attacks as part of 'IslamiYouth Uprising'". Daily News Egypt. 29 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ Bill Roggio, Mujahideen Shura Council denies involvement in Sinai assault, FDD's Long War Journal (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) 6 August 2012 Archived 15 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dyer, Emily; Kessler, Oren (2014). Terror in the Sinai (PDF). London: Henry Jackson Society. ISBN 978-1-909035-14-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "The cost of terrorism". 9 February 2023.
- ^ "El Sisi says plans afoot to celebrate defeat of extremists in Sinai Peninsula". 2 April 2023.
- ^ "Al-Jihadeya Al-Salafeya leader Al-Zawahiri captured". Daily News Egypt. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ^ "2 militants killed in North Sinai". Ahram Online. 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Egypt army kills 15 militants in Sinai". Xinhua. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ "Islamic State's Egypt affiliate urges attacks on judges - recording". Reuters UK. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Egypt army says it killed Sinai-based leading militant - statement". Aswat Mariya. 1 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Egypt says top militant killed". Arab News. 2 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ "Sisi: Egyptians chose 'the difficult path'". 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ "Sinai, Egypt's unsolved problem". Ahram Online. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Egypt has lost more than 3,000 in fight against militants since 2013, says El Sisi". The national News. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "IDF Soldier Killed, Another Wounded in Border Attack". Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Egypt's long, bloody fight against the Islamic State in Sinai is going nowhere". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ Walsh, Declan; Kirkpatrick, David D. (25 November 2017). "In Egypt, Furious Retaliation but Failing Strategy in Sinai". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Many Egyptian troops killed or wounded in North Sinai". Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "The Heavy Civilian Toll in Sinai". Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Death toll in Egypt mosque attack rises to more than 300". 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Russian plane crash in Egypt: It's too early to determine cause, officials say". 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "South Korean church mourns after Egypt bombing". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Three Vietnamese tourists, guide killed by Egypt roadside bomb". The Straits Times. 29 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Croatian hostage 'killed by IS in Egypt'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b Farid, Farid (25 November 2017). "Egypt launches air strikes after deadly mosque attack". The Age. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ Awad, Marwa. "Egypt army operation nets militants in Sinai-sources". AF. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ The Age, 16 February 2015: "Egypt strikes back at Islamic State militants after beheading video, killing dozens" Archived 19 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mazel, Zvi (21 February 2017). "ISIS in Sinai: the Libyan connection". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Lisa Watanabe (February 2015). "Sinai Peninsula – from Buffer Zone to Battlefield" (PDF). Center for Security Studies Analyses in Security Policy. No. 168. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Clashes in Sinai over Morsi removal". Ahram Online. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "Sinai population still striving for basic rights as unrest continues: Report". Ahram Online. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Mapping jihadi groups in Sinai". Egypt Independent. 10 August 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Analysis: Egypt Tackles Increased Sinai Militancy". Lebanonwire.com. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Awad, Marwa (16 August 2011). "Egypt army operation nets militants in Sinai-sources". Reuters Africa. Cairo. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Khaled, Osama (11 August 2011). "Special forces deployed to Sinai to restore security". Almasry Alyoum. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ "Updated: Egyptian troops strike hard in North Sinai after multiple attacks". Al Ahram. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Egypt Army kills 32, arrests 38 more in Sinai offensive". GlobalPost. 8 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ "The New Triangle of Egypt, Israel, and Hamas". Washington Institute. 12 January 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ a b "More troops and equipment arrive in Egypt's Sinai as hostage crisis continues". Fox News. Associated Press. 21 May 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Suspect in kidnapping of Egyptian security men arrested". Reuters. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ "Egypt bloodletting rages with Islamic militants killing 25 police in Sinai Peninsula". CBS News. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Christa Case Bryant (12 August 2013). "Militants dig in as Egypt cracks down on jihadi sandbox in Sinai". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Sinai, Egypt's unsolved problem". Al-Ahram. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Bomb attack on Sinai hotel leaves no casualties". Ahram Online. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Majority of terrorists in Sinai arrested: source". Egypt Independent. 3 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Two mausoleums bombed in north, central Sinai". Ahram Online. 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Egypt bloodletting rages with Islamic militants killing 25 police in Sinai Peninsula". CBS News. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Miller, Elhanan (28 August 2013). "Five Hamas members arrested over Egyptian police massacre". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Top Sinai militant confesses murder of 25 policemen: Security source". Ahram Online. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Egypt 'killed 78 militants' in recent operations in Sinai". English.ahram.org.eg. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Egypt army says 60 'terrorists' killed in Sinai in a month". Ahram Online. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ "Rocket attack kills 15 militants in Sinai: Egyptian state TV". Reuters. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "9 Militants Are Reported Killed in Egyptian Army Raid in Sinai". The New York Times. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Suicide bombings strike Egyptian military in border town in Sinai, killing 9". NPR. Associated Press. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ^ "Egyptian tanks, helicopters push through Sinai". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Al-Qaida-linked group claims Egypt police attack". New York Daily News. Associated Press. 25 December 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ "Sinai's Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis claim responsibility for Egypt's Mansoura blast". Ahram Online. 25 December 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ Ashour, Omar (8 November 2015). "Sinai's Stubborn Insurgency". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017 – via www.foreignaffairs.com.
- ^ a b "Militants Down Egyptian Helicopter, Killing 5 Soldiers". The New York Times. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ "Military airstrikes kill 30 militants in North Sinai: media reports". Ahram Online. 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ "Egypt Bus Blast in Sinai Peninsula Kills Korean Tourists". Bloomberg News. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Bombing of Tourist Bus Kills at Least Three in Sinai". The New York Times. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ Mohamed, Yusri (24 October 2014). "Attacks in Egypt's Sinai kill 33 security personnel". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "State of Emergency declared in parts of North Sinai after attack kills 31 soldiers". Ahram Online. 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Fresh statement claims Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis has allied with IS". Ahram Online. 10 November 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ "ISIS Releases Graphic Propaganda Video For Ansar Bait al-Maqdis". International Business Times. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ "Kidnapped police captain in Sinai found dead: Army". 13 January 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ "Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis releases video of "policeman's execution"". Ahram Online. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ "At least 32 killed in Egypt as militants attack army and police targets in Sinai". The Guardian. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David (30 January 2015). "Bomb Attacks at Security Sites in Sinai Kill at Least 26". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^ "Security-imperatives-in-Sinai - Al-Ahram Weekly". weekly.ahram.org.eg. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Egyptian military kills 47 militants in the Sinai". Reuters. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ "Bombs kill two, wound dozens in Egypt's North Sinai". Reuters. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ "Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claims Thursday Sinai attacks". Ahram Online. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "15 suspected militants killed in North Sinai raids - state agency". Aswat Masriya. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Egypt army killed 29 suspected militants in North Sinai this week". Ahram Online. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Update 3: At least 6 dead, including one civilian, in Arish suicide bomb attack". Ahram Online. 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Al-Tarabeen tribe launches offensive against ISIS hideouts in Sinai". Sada El Balad. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Rafah Bedouin killed, another abducted after Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis warns tribe". The Cairo Post. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "3 judges, driver killed in gun attack in Egypt's North Sinai". Ahram Online. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Home | Reuters". www.reuters.com.
- ^ "Scores killed as militants attack Egyptian troops in Sinai". The Washington Post. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
The officials gave a death toll of 64 soldiers, 90 militants and four civilians. It was the biggest battle in the Sinai since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. At least 55 soldiers were wounded, they said.
- ^ "Egypt's Sisi rallies troops in Sinai after IS attacks".
- ^ "Live Updates: Largest attack on restive Sinai leaves dozens dead". Ahram Online. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ "241 'terrorists' killed in North Sinai in 5 days: Military". Ahram Online. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Civilians killed in Egypt's Sinai battles". Media with Conscience (MWC) News. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "20 militants killed in attack on security checkpoint in North Sinai: Reports". Ahram Online. 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Updated: IS claims responsibility for North Sinai bombing that killed 4 Egyptian troops". Ahram Online. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Egypt's army says it killed 12 'terrorists' in North Sinai". Ahram Online. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "20 suspected militants killed in North Sinai shelling - military sources". Aswat Masriya. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 August 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "Sinai blasts injure six peacekeepers, including four Americans: Pentagon". Reuters. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Lamothe, Dan (4 September 2015). "Four U.S. troops, two international peacekeepers wounded in Sinai blasts". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
- ^ "The Martyr's Right is Egypt's largest military action in North Sinai in months: Sources". Ahram Online. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Egypt says killed 55 militants in Sinai, two soldiers killed". Reuters. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "After Fiji soldier wounded in Sinai, others prepare for deployment". RadioNZ.co.nz. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Inside Egypt's Blacked-Out War With ISIS-Affiliated Militants". Time. 27 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ Youssef, Nour (25 February 2016). "In Reversal, Egypt Says Terrorists Downed Russian Jet Over Sinai". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "Egypt Security Watch Quarterly Report: April–June 2016" (PDF). Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ a b Issacharoff, Avi. "Sinai attacks decline as Egypt's fight against IS yields results". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "Egypt: 'IS attack' kills 13 policemen in Sinai". BBC News. 19 March 2016. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ Schwartz, Yardena (10 May 2016). "Israel Patrols Its Southern Border as ISIS Lurks in the Sinai Peninsula". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "Seven killed, 15 injured in Sinai blasts". Reuters. 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Over 30 gunmen said killed in Egyptian strikes in Sinai". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Egypt Claims To Have Killed A Top ISIS Leader In Sinai". Vocativ. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ a b Taha Sakr (6 August 2016). "Confusion Over the Immortal Leader of Sinai Province". Daily News Egypt. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "A suspected ISIL attack on a security checkpoint in North Sinai Governorate, Egypt, leaves at least 12 Egyptian military personnel and 15 terrorists dead". Reuters. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Three Egyptian soldiers killed during air, ground raids on Sinai militants: Army - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Four Egyptian army personnel killed in North Sinai: Armed forces - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "11 militants killed in North Sinai military operation: Army spokesman - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Six militants killed in North Sinai military operation: Army Spokesperson - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ a b Tom Batchelor (9 January 2017). "Suicide bomb kills at least 10 in Egypt". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ Fernandez, Alberto M. (22 February 2017). "ISIS Egypt Is Openly Betting on Bigotry as a Winning Strategy (Daily Brief No. 120)". Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Archived from the original on 24 February 2017.
- ^ "In New Video, ISIS Threatens to Increase Attacks on Copts". Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017.
- ^ "Palm Sunday bombings of Egyptian Coptic churches kill 44". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "At least 23 Egyptian soldiers killed in attack on Sinai checkpoint". The Guardian. 7 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Militants kill 5 police in attacks in Egypt's Sinai". ABC News. 17 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ Sweilam, Ashraf; Hendawi, Hamza. "Militants attack convoy in Egypt's Sinai, kill 18 police". Spokesman.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ Maps, Esri Story. "Annual Terrorist Attacks". Esri. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Najjar, Farah. (25 March 2018). "Sinai Peninsula: Sisi's offensive continues despite promises." Al Jazeera English website Archived 25 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "Islamic State claims air base attack in Egypt's North Sinai". Reuters. 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "The Missile Attack on El Arish Airport". Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Egyptian Forces Clash With ISIS Militants Near Sinai Airport". Haaretz. Reuters. 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Egypt army says 52 suspected militants killed in Sinai". 8 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "If You Are Afraid for Your Lives, Leave Sinai!". Human Rights Watch. 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Egypt forces kill 83 fighters in Sinai, military says". Al Jazeera. 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Seven Egyptian soldiers, ten militants killed in Sinai attack, army says". The Times of Israel. AFP. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ "مقتل فارس الأنصاري.. أخطر قيادي داعشي بسيناء". Al Arabiya (in Arabic). 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Islamic State claims responsibility for Egypt's Sinai attack". Reuters. 1 May 2020.
- ^ "Egypt Police Kill 18 Extremists in Sinai Raid". aawsat.com. 3 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 27 – September 2, 2020)". 3 September 2020.
- ^ "Egyptian officials: Roadside bombing in Sinai kills 2 police". Associated Press. 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (February 4–10, 2021)". 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (February 18–24, 2021)". 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (February 25 – March 3, 2021)". 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 11–17, 2021)". 18 March 2021.
- ^ "Egypt: Massive Sinai Demolitions Likely War Crimes". Human Rights Watch. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "سليم الحمادين.. أخطر وأقدم العناصر التكفيرية في سيناء". سكاي نيوز عربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 25 – April 7, 2021)". 8 April 2021.
- ^ "ISIL-linked group in Egypt claims execution of Copt, 2 tribesmen". www.aljazeera.com.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (April 30 – May 5, 2021)". 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 27 – June 2, 2021)". 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 2–9, 2021)". 10 June 2021.
- ^ "عملية نوعية للجيش في سيناء ومقتل إرهابيين بينهم قيادي كبير". Al Arabiya (in Arabic). 14 June 2021.
- ^ "An ambush by ISIS..11 Egyptian security personnel were killed and injured in Sinai". NINA News.
- ^ "Egypt: Eight soldiers killed in Sinai 'anti-terrorism' operations". Al Jazeera. 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 5–11, 2021)". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Egyptian armed forces kill 13 militants in Sinai operation". Egypt Independent. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 26 – September 1, 2021)". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 2 September 2021.
- ^ "11 Egyptian soldiers killed in armed attack in Sinai". www.aljazeera.com.
- ^ "Egyptian army clashes with IS fighters".
- ^ "2 IS fighters attack police officers".
- ^ "The cost of terrorism". Ahram Online. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ Staff, The New Arab (30 January 2023). "Explosion kills three children in Egypt's North Sinai". The New Arab. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ "The killing and wounding of 3 soldiers". Mada masr.
- ^ "Three Israeli soldiers, Egyptian security officer killed in border gunfire incident". Reuters. 3 June 2023.
- ^ "Egypt, Israel defence ministers discuss border incident; coordinate measures for prevention - Defence - Egypt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Sources: 3 security personnel killed in clashes at National Security Agency's Arish headquarters". Mada Masr.
- ^ "At least four killed in clash in Egypt's Sinai, security sources say". Reuters. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Shooting at police facility in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula kills at least 4 officers, officials say". ABC News. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Special Report: How Cairo is taking the fight to Sinai militants". Reuters. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Bombs kill two in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula". The National. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "At least 32 killed in Egypt as militants attack army and police targets in Sinai". The Guardian. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ "5 police personnel, 4 militants killed in clashes on Matrouh road". 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ "'State of Sinai' claim attacks as part of 'Islamic Youth Uprising'". Daily News Egypt. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "2 army officers killed, 3 conscripts injured in drive-by shootings". 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Egypt's Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claims killing of US citizen in Western Desert". 1 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ "Members of 'terrorist cell' in Sharqiya killed: Egyptian police". Ahram Online. 21 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ "Updated: Two Ansar Beit El-Maqdis militants killed in gunfight near Cairo". Ahram Online. 26 December 2014. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ a b c "Egypt's ire raised as Hamas harbors Sinai jihadists". The Times of Israel. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ^ "Gaza terrorists infiltrate Sinai". Ynet News. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ^ "Treaty of Peace Between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel" (PDF). United Nations. 1979. p. [page needed]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Analysis: Egypt, Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula". bi-me. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ a b Herb Keinon (9 August 2012). "Security cabinet okays Egypt attack helicopters in Sinai". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ "طائرات بدون طيار تقصف مواقع التكفيريين فى سيناء" (in Arabic). Al Ahram. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ^ "Egypt to create buffer zone along Gaza border". 30 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ "Sisi creates unified military command to combat terrorism in Egypt's Sinai". Ahram Online. 31 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "More areas of Sinai's Rafah to be evacuated: Egypt PM". Ahram Online. MENA. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Islamic State affiliate claims deadly attacks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula". The Telegraph. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Egyptian cabinet bans use of 4X4 vehicles in army-operations zones in Sinai". Ahram Online. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Egypt vows forceful response after massacre". BBC News. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Terror attack killing 235 Muslims praying on Friday is an 'unprecedented' atrocity in Egypt". The Independent. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (10 February 2018). "After a Mosque Massacre, Egypt Strikes Back in Sinai". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ Holmes, Oliver (30 March 2023). "Egyptian army has turned Sinai schools into military bases, says rights group". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Nour Youssef (26 December 2017). "Egypt Hangs 15 for Terrorism, Stoking Fears Among Islamists". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ Lappin, Yaakov (15 January 2019). "Israel's border fence with Egypt has transformed the south". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Islamic State claims responsibility for Sinai rocket attack on Israel". The Times of Israel. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Islamic State claims 'proof' of Israeli airstrikes in northern Sinai". The Times of Israel. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Egypt army dismisses NYT claims of 'Israeli airstrikes against terrorists in North Sinai with Cairo's approval' - Politics". Ahram Online. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "Barak agrees to Egypt deploying troops, vehicles in Sinai". Jerusalem Post. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ Somfalvi, Attila (21 August 2012). "Lieberman: Don't let Egypt get away with violations". Ynetnews. Yedioth Ahronot. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ Kershner, Isabel (21 August 2012). "Israel Asks Egypt to Remove Tanks from Sinai". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ^ a b Rudoren, Jodi (22 August 2012). "Developments in Iran and Sinai Deepen Israel's Worries about Egypt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ^ Winer, Stuart (21 August 2012). "After buildup, Israel tells Egypt to remove tanks from Sinai". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Clinton urges Egypt, Israel to talk on Sinai". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ Davidovitch, Joshua (24 August 2012). "Barak and Egyptian counterpart reportedly come to terms over Sinai offensive". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ "Egypt tells Israel military presence in Sinai is temporary". The Times of Israel. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Morsi's message to Israel: No reason for concern". Yedioth Ahronot. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ Shmulovich, Michal (8 September 2012). "Egypt says it has killed 32 'criminals' and arrested 38 since Sinai terror attack". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ معركة الثأر (مترجم إلى اللغة الإنجليزية) Sinai against terrorism - YouTube. YouTube. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Israel giving Egyptian army free hand in Sinai, official says". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Report: IDF to okay bolstered Egyptian forces in Sinai after deadly attacks". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Benjamin Netanyahu: We are partners with Egypt in the fight against ISIS that has reached our borders - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Egypt army dismisses NYT claims of 'Israeli airstrikes against terrorists in North Sinai with Cairo's approval'". Al-Ahram. 4 February 2018.
- ^ "IDF generals travel to Sinai for rare public meeting with Egyptian army". The Times of Israel.
- ^ "Egypt to Boost Troops in Restive Sinai After Israel Deal". 9 November 2021.
- ^ "CNN: US offers Egyptian army intelligence aid for Sinai battles". Israel Hayom; Reuters. Israel Hayom. 21 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ Winer, Stuart; Ben Zion, Ilan (22 August 2012). "Washington calls for Egyptian transparency amid military buildup in Sinai". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "US urges Egypt to retake control of Sinai". The Jerusalem Post. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Keinon, Herb (21 August 2012). "Int'l force in Sinai quiet amid concern of Egypt violations". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Blast rocks Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan". Reuters. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "His Excellency Mr. Alaa Batayneh on Jordan's path towards energy independence". Naturalgaseurope.com. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Less than a warzone". Mada Masr. 9 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "Inside Egypt's crackdown on Islamist militants". CBS. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
Further reading
- Zack Gold, Security in the Sinai: Present and Future (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, 2014)