BEYOND SYRIA IRAQ

PROVINCE TIES TO THE ISLAMIC STATE CORE
IS in the Sinai
■ MOKHTAR AWAD
PREPARED STATEMENT
THE ISLAMIC STATE’Sso-called Sinai Province, or Wilayat Sinai, has been
the most active affiliate outside the group’s base in Libya, thus posing a
threat to both Egypt’s and Israel’s security. This local affiliate, formerly
called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (ABM), witnessed a remarkable improvement in
capability since it pledged allegiance to IS in November 2014. Its attacks have
been far more frequent and lethal, and have utilized increasingly advanced
weapons and tactics.
The group’s enhanced capabilities, coupled with a shift in tactics to increased
targeting of civilians and carrying out operations that advance the interests of
core IS—such as the downing of a Russian airliner in October 2015—suggest
a strong connection to the core leadership. I argue that core IS has succeeded
in “subsuming” the local Sinai affiliate. This means a successful “integration,”
wherein local leaders operate as subordinate lieutenants serving IS interests
without the need for constant communication with or direction from core IS.
Despite the obvious shifts in the group’s behavior, however, from which
we can intelligently infer a strong connection, information in the public
domain about direct connections between Sinai and IS core and how they
take place is lacking. Such communications have, indeed, taken place and
still do, and this paper will shed light on such contacts.
Also to be considered here is the success the Islamic State has had in utilizing
its Sinai host to help it spread into the Egyptian mainland and Western
Desert, the latter with help also from its Libya base. Although the extent to
which IS core centrally directs such operations isn’t known, the nature of
mainland and Western Desert operations strongly suggests a strategic direction
that advances its interests.
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