The "Sinai Province" (Wilayat Sinaa) is of primary importance for ISIS and its leaders, and the organization is evidently investing great efforts in honing its activists' abilities and encouraging their activity there. In their speeches, ISIS spokesmen make a point of praising the Sinai fighters and exhort them to maintain and intensify their efforts. The organization acts in Sinai ceaselessly, employing a variety of methods to destabilize the region and undermine the Egyptian authorities' control there, using means that proved effective in its war in Iraq. It also seems to have adopted a strategy reminiscent of the Idarat Al-Tawahush ("Management of Savagery") strategy, familiar among global jihad organizations (on which more below).
The upgrading of ISIS's abilities in Sinai is evident in every domain. First, there has been an improvement in its military capabilities, especially following the adoption of tactics used in Iraq. The fighters' weaponry has been upgraded, and number and effectiveness of attacks has increased. ISIS's Sinai affiliate also makes intensive use of the internet for propaganda and recruitment purposes. Being part of the larger ISIS organization, it now has access to the resources and expertise of ISIS's media apparatuses. With their help it has increased its pressure on the Egyptian army using various methods of psychological warfare. In addition, it engages in hacking operations, termed "electronic jihad". On the civilian level, the organization is acting to cultivate ties with the local population.
This report addresses the importance of Sinai for ISIS and the strategy it employs there. It also reviews the advancement in ISIS's operations and the methods it uses to pressure Egypt, including its propaganda campaign and cyber warfare.
Sinai – A Region Of Prime Importance For ISIS
The ISIS leadership attributes great importance to Sinai and directs considerable resources there, due to the many advantages the region holds for the organization. First, Sinai is part of Egypt, which is the largest and most populous Arab state and has the largest Arab army; at the same time, Egypt’s control over Sinai has historically been weak. Second, Sinai is adjacent to Israel, a historic target of jihad, as well as to the Gaza Strip, a major jihadi hotspot. Additionally, the strict Salafi-jihadi ideology that ISIS espouses has been popular in Sinai for years and has many adherents among the local population. Moreover, unlike in other arenas such as Syria, Yemen and Libya, where Al-Qaeda affiliates operate alongside ISIS affiliates, Sinai is free of other Salafi and global jihad organizations that could compete with ISIS. It should be noted that the first issue of Dabiq, ISIS's English-language magazine, presented Sinai as a ideal region for jihad activity.
In an audio tape distributed on November 13, 2014, ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi acknowledged the oaths of fealty sworn by several jihad groups outside of the group's core territory in Iraq and Syria, and declared that he had appointed "governors" on his behalf in those countries. Among the countries Al-Baghdadi mentioned was Egypt, following the oath of fealty sworn by the Sinai-based group Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis, which had joined ISIS. The identity of the governor Al-Baghdadi appointed for Sinai is unknown, but presumably he is similar in his background to the governor Al-Baghdadi appointed for Libya – an Iraqi with military and/or intelligence expertise, quite possibly a former official in Saddam Hussein's security forces and a veteran of ISIS in Iraq, who gained Al-Baghdadi's trust.
This report, offered as a complimentary sample from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM), reviews the activity of the Islamic State's (ISIS) Sinai Province. It discusses the importance of Sinai to ISIS; the increase in terror activity in the peninsula since the Sinai-based jihad group Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis officially joined ISIS; and the improvement in its military, propaganda and cyber tactics; and the growing pressure exerted by ISIS on the Egyptian government.
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http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8848.htm