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Al Qaeda branches eulogize slain Egyptian jihadist
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have issued eulogies for Hammam Attiyah, who led Ajnad Misr until his death earlier this month. Little is known about Attiyah, but the eulogies are a significant indication that Ajnad Misr operates as part of al Qaeda’s international network.
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Egypt court confirms death sentence for Brotherhood chief, 11 others
Muslim Brotherhood via Egypt court confirms death sentence for Muslim Brotherhood chief, 11 others
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Suicide bombings by Islamic State’s ‘province’ rock Libyan town
One of the Islamic State’s so-called “provinces” in Libya has claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in the Libyan town of Qubba earlier today. The group says the attacks were retaliation for the airstrikes carried out in nearby Derna.
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Qatar recalls ambassador from Egypt in dispute over Libya strikes | Reuters
Qatar recalls ambassador from Egypt in dispute over Libya airstrikes
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Egypt
Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after 21 Egyptians beheaded
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21 Egyptian Christians executed in Islamic State video
The Islamic State has released a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers who were kidnapped in Libya. The lead fighter in the video seeks to intimidate Italy, saying his organization will conquer Rome. The group is also using the beheadings to portray al Qaeda’s leaders as being soft in their pursuit of jihad.
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Egypt
An Egyptian court sentenced 230 people, including a prominent activist, to life in prison after their conviction for “rioting, inciting violence and attacking security forces.” One person was killed when unknown assailants firebombed a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Cairo.
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Ajnad Misr
How Cairo is taking the fight to Sinai militants
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Egypt
President al-Sisi has asked France for modern military equipment. Recent jihadist attacks on the Sinai, including a complex suicide and indirect fire attack that killed 32 security personnel on Jan. 29, have stoked nationalist sentiment in Egypt. A court has banned Hamas’ armed wing, labeling it a terrorist organization. An Egyptian policeman was arrested after he shot and killed an injured Islamist who had been detained by police and put in a Cairo hospital. Two women were killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit their house after being launched at military checkpoint in the Sinai, while a third woman was killed…
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Islamic State’s Sinai ‘province’ claims simultaneous attacks on Egyptian military, police
The group’s attacks are likely its deadliest since it swore allegiance to the Islamic State last November.
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Egypt
Egypt withdrew from an international meeting on Libya, protesting the inclusion of Qatar and Turkey, “countries outside the African Union.” A grenade attack targeting a bus injured three in Port Said.
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Egypt
Jihadists claimed to have bombed a pipeline in North Sinai that carries oil into Jordan; the claim is unverified. President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that 208 people who had “taken up arms” against security forces were killed in 2014, and almost 1,000 were arrested. Sisi also argued that freedom of expression and protest rights were secondary to the country’s basic stability. Egypt closed its embassy in Sanaa, Yemen due to security concerns.
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Egypt
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi released a statement claiming that free speech rights in Egypt are intact and that there are no political prisoners in the country, while calling for a renewed dialogue on Islam. A traditional Jewish festival that would have taken place on Jan. 10 did not happen as an Alexandria administrative court formally banned it in December. Former president Mohammed Morsi claimed that he is still the country’s chief executive at his trial on espionage charges. A roadside bomb injured four soldiers in the North Sinai. Security forces destroyed a .75 mile tunnel in Rafah used for smuggling…
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Egypt
Three Bedouins were beheaded by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in the Sinai for allegedly “conspiring with Israel,” according to the government; another man was shot and killed for “dealing with” the army. Three additional men were found executed in Rafah, and one woman was injured in a separate shooting.
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Egypt
Shiite leaders forbid insults against Sunnis
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Egypt
A court overturned the embezzlement convictions of former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons. Egypt’s Grand Mufti, who had previously condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris, warned the magazine Charlie Hebdo about publishing its latest caricature of Mohammad, calling it an “unwarranted provocation” of Muslims. A police captain was found dead in North Sinai, two days after his disappearance; Ansar Beit al-Maqdis is suspected in the killing.
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Egypt
Two men were found decapitated in a village in North Sinai on Jan. 10; Ansar Beit Al Maqdis jihadists are suspected of the atrocity. One “terrorist element” was killed and one soldier was injured after a car chase in the Al-Wahat area of the Western desert. Unidentified gunmen shot at a police checkpoint in Giza, injuring three policemen. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will meet with the head of the World Jewish Congress. An atheist was sentenced to three years in jail by an Egyptian court for insulting Islam and “belittl[ing] the divine” via Facebook posts.
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Algeria
Libya conflict threatens entire Maghreb
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Egypt
From Egypt’s leader, an ambitious call for reform in Islam
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Egypt
UAE flexes muscle in Mideast reaching beyond its role as finance hub
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Egypt
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi gave a speech during mass at an Orthodox cathedral in Abasseya, marking the first time an Egyptian head of state participated in a Christmas ceremony. Egypt’s leading clerical authority condemned yesterday’s terrorist attack in Paris.
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Egypt
A policeman was killed as he attempted to defuse a bomb placed near a gas station in Cairo. Terrorists killed two policemen guarding a Coptic church south of Cairo. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a “religious revolution” and reformation of aggressive interpretations of Islam in a speech made to a gathering of Egypt’s leading clerics.
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Egypt
A bomb blast in north Sinai injured at least five people, including two policemen. Egypt has started expanding its buffer zone with Gaza, a plan that calls for the destruction of about 1,200 residences. One civilian was killed and three policemen were injured when gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in Cairo.
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Christians
Libya violence: Militants kidnap Coptic Christians in Sirte
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Islamic State’s ‘provinces’ claim attacks in Egypt, Libya
In statements posted on Twitter earlier today, the Islamic State’s “provinces” in Egypt and Libya claimed recent attacks in both countries.
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Egypt
The Egyptian military claims that Tawfiq Awwad “Abu Seiba,” a commander of Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, was killed in a firefight with security forces in Rafah. Egyptian forces killed one suspected militant and arrested 11 others during operations in Sinai; the first phase of the government’s expanded buffer zone with Gaza will cost $70 million. A roadside bomb killed two soldiers in North Sinai.
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Egypt
The interior ministry announced that security forces killed five Islamic State-affliated Ansar Bayt al Maqdis fighters in a raid in northern Egypt. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi replaced the chief of general intelligence after an embarrassing information leak, citing health reasons. Egypt reopened the border with Gaza for the first time in two months on Dec. 21. The US has delivered 10 Apache attack helicopters to Egypt.
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Egyptian jihadists thank State Department for ‘blessing’ of terrorist designation
Ajnad Misr says in a statement that the US is the real “terrorist” organization, and claims to be fighting a “global system” that seeks to thwart the revolution in Egypt. The group’s rhetoric is similar to al Qaeda’s.
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State Department designates Egyptian jihadist group, ex-Gitmo detainee
The State Department today added Ajnad Misr, an Egyptian jihadist group, and Ibrahim Rubaish, a senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) official, to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists.
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Egypt
The army stated that it has killed 17 militants, arrested 11 others and destroyed 64 “militant sites” in north Sinai in the past three days. The Interior Ministry has expelled 40 Cairo police cadets for ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The British Embassy in Cairo has reopened after unspecific security issues were “resolved.”
