Contains many features across the full range of issues pertaining to international terrorism: terrorist groups, wanted terrorists, and technical pages on various threat-related topics
National Counterterrorism Center | FTOs HOME FTOs METHOD & TACTICS TIMELINE Home FTOs ISIS-Sinai FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS ISIS-Sinai ( AS OF AUGUST 2022 ) OVERVIEW ISIS-Sinai flag ISIS-Sinai, a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS), is the most active and capable Salafi-jihadist terrorist group operating in Egypt. The group aspires to expand ISIS’s self-proclaimed caliphate to the Sinai Peninsula and since 2014 has conducted more than 500 attacks in the Sinai, mostly against Egyptian security forces. In 2011, the group now known as ISIS-Sinai formed as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM). At that time, the group had ties to al-Qa‘ida and focused most of its attacks against Israel and its interests. After former Egyptian president Muhammad Mursi was removed from office in 2013, ABM increased its attacks on Egyptian military and government targets. In 2014, ABM pledged alliance to ISIS and changed its name to ISIS-Sinai and began conducting more lethal attacks. OPERATING AREASBased primarily in northern Sinai, Egypt MEMBERSFewer than 1,000 TACTICS AND TARGETSISIS-Sinai uses small-arms assaults, roadside bombs, suicide attacks, kidnappings, and targeted killings. The group mostly targets Egyptian security forces but also attacks government personnel and infrastructure, Israeli interests, Coptic Christians, local tribal militias, and other civilians who ISIS-Sinai members perceive are working against the group or oppose its interpretation of Islamic law. FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATIONThe US State Department designated ABM, ISIS-Sinai’s predecessor group, as a foreign terrorist organization in April 2014, a designation which remains in effect with respect to ISIS-Sinai. NOTABLE ATTACKS 21 July–26 August 2020 Bir el Abed, North Sinai, Egypt ISIS-Sinai members capture at least three villages on the outskirts of Bir el Abed, holding them for more than 30 days. 24 November 2017 Bir el Abed, North Sinai, Egypt ISIS-Sinai conducts coordinated suicide bombings and firearms attacks against a Sufi mosque, killing more than 300 worshippers and wounding at least 100. 31 October 2015 Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai, Egypt ISIS-Sinai smuggles an explosive device onto a Russian passenger plane, targeted to retaliate for Russia’s counter-ISIS efforts in Syria. The device downs the aircraft shortly after takeoff. All 224 passengers are killed. | National Counterterrorism Center Note: Documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to view Privacy Policy | Content Notes | Get Adobe Reader × Content Notes Spelling of arabic names and terms While there is no universally accepted transliteration of Arabic names and terms, this edition of the Counterterrorism Calendar adheres to a transliteration system that is generally used throughout the US Government. In this system, the letters “u” and “a” are preferred over “o” and “e.” For example, the name of the al-Qa‘ida operative who was detained on 1 March 2003 is Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, not Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; he was an associate of Usama Bin Ladin, not Osama Bin Laden. We have retained, however, the spellings used on the Rewards for Justice and FBI terrorism sites; spellings there are designed for easy recognition or are used in legal documents and therefore do not always conform to these rules. Islamic calendar The Islamic calendar is based on the movement and observation of the moon. The Islamic year contains 12 months, none of which can exceed 30 days. Each month starts when the lunar crescent is first seen after a new moon. Because 12 lunar months multiplied by 29.53 days equals 354.36 days, the Islamic calendar will always be approximately 11 days shorter than the Western (Gregorian) calendar. For example, 1 Muharram, the first day of Islamic year 1437 (known in the West by the Latin term Anno Hegirae, or A.H.), fell on 14 October 2015; in A.H. 1438, 1 Muharram falls on 2 October 2016. Because of lunar observation and differences in time zones, the observance of Islamic holidays and calendar dates may vary from region to region. Islamic dates and holidays are approximate, as they are determined by local lunar observation. Islamic and Jewish holidays begin the evening preceding the date shown unless stated otherwise. Map boundaries Boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative. The information on this website is valid as of 29 August 2015. This website contains only information in the public domain that has been verified and disseminated by US Government sources. Close