Ramzi Mawafi was added to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists today. Mawafi has been publicly identified as the emir of al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, which serves as a platform for funneling al Qaeda’s assistance to allied jihadist groups.
Testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security on al Qaeda’s network in Egypt and the threat it poses to the US
Bloomberg News reported that Ayman al Zawahiri communicated with “other regional terrorist commanders” as well as the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Zawahiri’s communications are what led the US to shutter more than 20 diplomatic facilities.
Jihadists operating in the Sinai who are linked to Ramzi Mowafi, a former physician for Osama bin Laden, have reportedly been arrested. Mowafi, also an explosives expert, is said to be the head of al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli troops killed three “terrorists” who attacked a construction crew as it was building a security fence along the border with Egypt. One of the terrorists was wearing a suicide vest.
The jihadist group noted it avoided targeting Egyptian troops in its last attack and said their “main goal is to fight the usurping Jews.”
More than 10 Egyptian soldiers were killed as an al Qaeda-linked terror group overran an outpost, seized two armored personnel carriers, and crossed into Israel. Israeli troops destroyed one of the APCs, and killed six terrorists. In a separate operation, the Israeli Air Force targeted a Mujahideen Shura Council “terrorist squad” that was plotting future attacks.
The Egyptian terror group again claimed credit for last month’s cross-border attack in Israel that killed a construction worker, and said it is “continuing with our pledge of allegiance on the path of jihad.”
A newly-announced terrorist organization claimed responsibility for yesterday’s cross border attack in Israel, which killed one Israeli civilian. The group, which calls itself Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), features al Qaeda-style flags in its videos and says the attack is dedicated to Osama bin Laden.
Armed gunmen surrounded a Multinational Observer Force base in the Sinai for eight days until the government freed five terrorists linked to terror attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, and Taba.
“We give you allegiance for obedience in good and bad, in difficulty and ease,” Ansar al Jihad told Ayman al Zawahiri in a statement released on the Internet.
Three members of al Qaeda-linked Salafist groups in Gaza were killed in two airstrikes over the past day.
The new Egyptian terror group vowed to “fulfill the oath” of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Egyptian police arrested the head of al Qaeda’s branch in the Sinai. Mohammed Eid Muslih Hamad, who is also known as El Tihi, was captured in El Arish. He has been behind six bombings of a pipeline to Israel and Jordan.