Egyptian officials say that Ashraf Ali Hassanein al Gharabli, a commander in the Islamic State’s so-called Sinai ‘province,’ was killed during a shootout in Cairo. He once belonged to Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, which split into separate factions. Whereas Al Gharabli joined the Islamic State, some of his comrades remained loyal to al Qaeda.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” launched a massive assault on more than 15 Egyptian security locations earlier today. The coordinated raids involved 3 suicide bombers and dozens of other fighters.
Sanafi al Nasr, a senior al Qaeda operative, reposted part of a message from Ayman al Zawahiri that was released in January. The excerpt deals with how al Qaeda thinks an Islamic State should be built. It is intended as a rebuttal to the Islamic State’s announced caliphate, which al Qaeda still has not officially addressed.
