Israel attack hints Egypt has wider militancy problem

A Sinai-based group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes claimed responsibility for the attack in which an Israeli soldier was killed. A third militant who took part in the attack was also killed, but there has been no word on his identity. The three were well armed and had explosive belts, the Israeli army said.

The villagers learnt of their fate when an Egyptian TV station showed photos of the attackers’ bodies, which had not been identified until then. Their families collected them from a morgue in Ismailia on September 30, following investigations by the military prosecutor, and buried them the same day in Mit Khaqan.

They are being remembered as martyrs in the village – a status that reflects popular antipathy towards Israel more than three decades after it made peace with Egypt.

The Mursi administration has assured Israel that the peace treaty signed in 1979 by President Anwar Sadat – who was later assassinated by Islamist gunmen – is safe. But Mursi has also kept the Israeli government at arm’s length, and avoids referring to Israel by name in public remarks.

Efforts to curb the militancy in Sinai have been stepped up since an August 5 attack by militants who killed 16 Egyptian border guards, seized an armored vehicle and used it to break through the border in another attack Israel. The perpetrators of that attack have yet to be identified.

“The majority of Salafi Jihadi groups now focus on Israel,” said Anani of Durham University. “You can find people from everywhere in Egypt and even people from outside Egypt: Saudis, Libyans.”

Residents of Sheikh Zuweid, near the border with Israel, reported seeing numerous people from out of town ahead of the August 5 attack.

The Nour Party, an ultraorthodox Salafi group that is part of the political mainstream, has been sending preachers to Sinai in an effort to combat militant concepts such as “takfir” – which allows one Muslim to declare another an infidel.

Yousri Hamed, a Nour Party spokesman, said such ideas were limited and was dismissive of their existence beyond Sinai. “They might be individuals who do not work in the open because they cannot confront society. You don’t notice them unless they gather in a place and begin practicing deviant ideas.”

Nageh Ibrahim, another Islamist preacher, believes militant ideas have spread widely since Mubarak was ousted.

 

Reuters has the full article

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