The Islamic State has called on its followers to take the jihad to Egypt, to the heart of Cairo itself.
Abu Mus ‘ab al-Maqdisi, a leader in the Islamic State, said in a statement titled “Advice Egypt’s Mujahidin [jihadis]” published on websites linked to the “caliphate,” that “It is necessary to take the battle to Cairo, until the Sinai becomes safeguarded from the apostates [reference to Egyptian government] and becomes a rear base [qaeda] to expand the jihad from.”
He added that “You have a good example in the Islamic State when it was bombing Baghdad on a daily or weekly basis with car bombs and other operations.”
He also called on jihadis in Egypt to “target the Copts,” the nation’s indigenous, Christian minorities: “For targeting them, following them, and killing them is one of the main ways to serve the cause of our virtuous male and female hostages of the tyrants.”