Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM; ), or Ansar Al-Quds (), was an Islamist

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

militant group operating in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

from 2011 to 2014. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was linked with

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. It operated in Sinai, focusing its efforts on

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the gas pipeline to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, with a handful attacks directed at

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In mid-2013, it began a campaign of attacks on Egyptian security forces, and in November 2014 pledged allegiance to the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

(IS). Most of the group became a branch of IS, renaming itself Islamic State - Sinai Province.

Overview

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 Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. 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, declaring the Egyptian army and police

apostates Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

that can be killed. ABM was believed to have been the main group behind terrorist activity in the Sinai. 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. ABM recruited

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

as well as other Egyptians and people of other nationalities. Ten leaders from the group were reported to have escaped from the Sinai to

and Marsa Matrouh in late 2013. During 2014, ABM sent emissaries to IS in Syria to seek financial support, weapons and tactical advice. On 10 November 2014, many members of ABM took an

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

, the leader of IS. Following this pledge, IS supporters within ABM formed an official branch of IS in the region, known as Wilayat Sinai, the Sinai Province of the Islamic State (or IS-SP).

Designation as a terrorist organization

ABM or IS-SP was designated a

terrorist organization Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...

by Egypt, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Attacks

Attacks claimed by or attributed to ABM include: * bombing of the gas pipelines Egypt to

and

multiple times. * September 2012 southern Israel cross-border attack. * September 2013 assassination attempt on the minister of interior

Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa, often referred to simply as Mohamed Ibrahim (; born 10 April 1953) was the Minister of Interior of Egypt, from January 2013 until March 2015. Career Ibrahim has worked for the interior ministry in several roles. At one ...

. * October 2013 attack on a military intelligence building in

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

. * November 2013, assassination of Mohamed Mabrouk, a security officer involved in the trial against

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Nasr City Nasr City ( ) forms two of the nine districts of the Eastern Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is administratively divided into Nasr City West/One ''(Gharb Madinet Nasr/awwal),'' and Nasr City East/Two (''Sharq Madinet Nasr/thani''). In 2021, Nasr C ...

. * 24 December 2013

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

of a police compound in

Mansoura Mansoura (; ', , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...

, killing at least 16 people, including 14 police officers. * 31 January 2014, a rocket was launched from the Sinai Peninsula aimed at

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

, Israel. The

Iron Dome Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...

system intercepted the rocket. * 20 January 2014 attack in Eilat. No damage or injuries were reported. * 23 January 2014 attack on a police checkpoint in

Beni Suef Beni Suef ( the capital city of the Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. The city is the location of Beni Suef University. An important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, the city is located 110 km (70 miles) south of ...

that killed 5 people. *

January 2014 Cairo bombings On 24 and 25 January 2014 a series of bombs exploded in Greater Cairo. The first four explosions occurred on the day before the anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, with the fifth coming on the anniversary itself. 24 January Police ...

that took place in late January 2014, though it later indicated that the

Soldiers of Egypt Soldiers of Egypt () was a Salafist Islamist militant group that operated near Cairo, Egypt. The group was founded by Humam Muhammed in 2013, after he split away from the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis militant group. The group claimed that its attacks ...

group was behind one of the bombings. * 25 January 2014 shooting down of a military helicopter in the Sinai. * 28 January 2014 assassination of Mohamed Al-Saied (who was a member of Egypt's

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

). * 31 January 2014 attempted attack on Eilat. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system. * 16 February

2014 Taba bus bombing The 2014 Taba bus bombing was a terrorist attack on a tourist coach in Taba, Egypt on 16 February 2014. The bus had been parked, waiting to cross into Israel at the Taba Border Crossing, when a lone suicide bomber entered the open bus and de ...

that killed four people, including three Korean tourists and an Egyptian bus driver. The group warned all tourists to leave Egypt before 20 February 2014. * 2 May 2014 attacks that killed 3 people in the Sinai. * on 19 July 2014 Ansar Bait al-Maqdis ambushed Egyptian army soldiers; this event is known as the

2014 Farafra ambush The 2014 Farafra ambush (also called 2014 Al-Wadi Al-Gedid attack) occurred on 19 July 2014 when unidentified gunmen ambushed a desert checkpoint in the Farafra Oasis Road in Egypt's New Valley Governorate. Twenty-two border guards were killed i ...

. * on 28 August 2014 ABM released a video showing the beheading of 4 Egyptians accused of being

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

spies and providing Israel with intelligence. * late September 2014 killing of 6 security personnel. *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. *ABM released a graphic propaganda video claiming responsibility for the 24 October 2014 Sinai attacks that killed 28 soldiers northwest of the town of

Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ' ) is the capital and largest city of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediterranean coast northeast of Cairo and west of the Egypt–Gaza border ...

. The group was also responsible for a drive-by shooting several hours later at a checkpoint in Arish that killed three soldiers. After November 2014, attacks by the group were claimed as those of ISIL-SP.

References

* Global Terrorism Database
List of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis attacks
{{Militant Islamism in the Middle East 2010s in Egypt 2011 establishments in Egypt 2014 disestablishments in Egypt Al-Qaeda allied groups Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Egypt Jihadist groups in Egypt Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom Organisations of the Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) Organizations based in Africa designated as terrorist Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Organizations designated as terrorist by Egypt Organizations designated as terrorist by the United Arab Emirates Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States Organizations disestablished in 2014 Organizations established in 2011 Sinai Peninsula

Overview

Designation as a terrorist organization

Attacks

See also

References