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Ansar Bait al-Maqdis

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM; Arabic: أَنْصَارُ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِس, romanized: Anṣār Bayt al-Maqdis, lit. 'Supporters of the Holy House'[10]), or Ansar Al-Quds[11] (lit. 'Supporters of Jerusalem'), was a jihadist, extremist terrorist group based in Sinai from 2011-14.

Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis (ABM)

Waleed Waked (POW)[1]
Ibrahim Mohamed Freg †[2]
Shadi el-Manaei[3]

2011–10 November 2014[4]

Sinai Peninsula

 Egypt
 Gaza Strip[5][6]

Ideology of Islamic State (since 2014)

1,000[7]–2,000[8] (before merger with ISIL)

Al-Qaeda (formerly until 2014)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (present 2014)[9]

 Egypt
 Israel[6]
 Palestine
 Syria
Al-Qaeda (from 2014)

Sinai insurgency

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was linked to al-Qaeda from 2011 to 2014. It operated in the Sinai Peninsula, focused its efforts on Egypt and the gas pipeline to Jordan, with a handful attacks directed at Israel. In mid-2013, it began a campaign of attacks on Egyptian security forces, and in November 2014 the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[4] Most of the group became a branch of ISIL, renaming itself ISIL-Sinai Province.

Overview[edit]

ABM emerged from a number of indigenous Salafi jihadist groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Some of these groups had ties to Salafi jihadis in Gaza or leaders that had previously fought abroad, including with al-Qaeda.[12]


ABM rose from the chaos in Sinai that began with the uprising in January 2011. Its operations increased in the wake of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, shifting its main target from Israel to Egyptian security forces,[7][12] declaring the Egyptian army and police apostates that can be killed.[13]


ABM was believed to have been the main group behind terrorist activity in the Sinai.[14] From September 2013 to late January 2014, ABM claimed responsibility for a rapid succession of mass scale attacks throughout Egypt, including the attempted assassination of the Egyptian interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim.[12] ABM recruited Bedouins as well as other Egyptians and people of other nationalities.[14] Ten leaders from the group were reported to have escaped from the Sinai to Gaza and Marsa Matrouh in late 2013.[15]


During 2014, ABM sent emissaries to ISIL in Syria to seek financial support, weapons and tactical advice.[16] On 10 November 2014, many members of ABM took an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL.[17] Following this pledge, ISIL supporters within ABM formed an official branch of ISIL in the region,[18][19] known as Wilayat Sinai, the Sinai Province of the Islamic State (or ISIL-SP).[12]

Designation as a terrorist organization[edit]

ABM or ISIL-SP was designated a terrorist organization by Egypt,[20] the UAE,[21] the United Kingdom,[22] and the United States.[23]

bombing of the gas pipelines Egypt to and Jordan multiple times.[24][25]

Israel

.[10]

September 2012 southern Israel cross-border attack

September 2013 assassination attempt on the minister of interior .[26]

Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa

October 2013 attack on a military intelligence building in .[27]

Ismailia

November 2013, assassination of Mohamed Mabrouk, a security officer involved in the trial against , who was shot dead outside his home in Nasr City.[28]

Mohamed Morsi

24 December 2013 of a police compound in Mansoura, killing at least 16 people, including 14 police officers.[29]

bombing

31 January 2014, a rocket was launched from the Sinai Peninsula aimed at , Israel. The Iron Dome system intercepted the rocket.[30]

Eilat

20 January 2014 attack in Eilat. No damage or injuries were reported.

[31]

23 January 2014 attack on a police checkpoint in that killed 5 people.[32]

Beni Suef

that took place in late January 2014,[33] though it later indicated that the Soldiers of Egypt group was behind one of the bombings.[34]

January 2014 Cairo bombings

25 January 2014 shooting down of a military helicopter in the Sinai.

[35]

28 January 2014 assassination of Mohamed Al-Saied (who was a member of Egypt's ).[36]

Interior Ministry

31 January 2014 attempted attack on Eilat. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

[37]

16 February that killed four people, including three Korean tourists and an Egyptian bus driver.[38] The group warned all tourists to leave Egypt before 20 February 2014.[39]

2014 Taba bus bombing

2 May 2014 attacks that killed 3 people in the Sinai.

[40]

on 19 July 2014 Ansar Bait al-Maqdis ambushed Egyptian army soldiers, this event is knows as the

2014 Farafra ambush

on 28 August 2014 ABM released a video showing the beheading of 4 Egyptians accused of being spies and providing Israel with intelligence.[41]

Mossad

late September 2014 killing of 6 security personnel.

[42]

On 8 October 2014, a faction of ABM in the Gaza Strip, calling itself the Islamic State of Gaza, launched a bomb attack on the French Cultural Center in the city of , only to issue a statement several hours later denying any responsibility for the attack.[6]

Gaza

ABM released a graphic propaganda video claiming responsibility for the that killed 28 soldiers northwest of the town of Arish. The group was also responsible for a drive-by shooting several hours later at a checkpoint in Arish that killed three soldiers.[43]

24 October 2014 Sinai attacks

Attacks claimed by or attributed to ABM include:


After November 2014, attacks by the group were claimed as those of ISIL-SP.

Sinai insurgency

Timeline of the Sinai insurgency