Analysis: Egypt is losing its war against ISIS in Sinai

Egypt has deployed fighter jets against the north Sinai terrorists as the country faces its toughest battle in the region since the 1973 Yom Kippur War with Israel.

 

Wednesday’s events proved that, despite the regime of Egyptian President Abdul Fatteh al-Sisi’s steadfastness in directing the Egyptian army and security forces to use unyielding power against the terror organization, the task has proven difficult and is exacting a heavy price. The honest truth, as of now, is that Egypt is not succeeding in its war on terror. This raises difficult questions about the Egyptian army’s operational capabilities, its lack of sufficient intel-gathering abilities, and perhaps even worse – its helplessness and negligence.

 

The ISIS-affiliated Sinai Province is an incarnation of a previous organization – Ansar Bayit al-Maqdes, which once identified itself as a local arm of al-Qaida, and from time to time carried out operations against Israel as a subcontractor of Hamas. A few months ago the group abandoned al-Qaida and pledged allegiance to ISIS in exchange for a promise of financial aid.

 

It will be interesting to see how the situation in Sinai will influence Egypt’s relations with Hamas. After hatred and acrimony between Hamas and Cairo, the height of which was seen during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, and accusations that Hamas aided terrorists in Sinai, in recent weeks, there have been signs of better relations between Gaza and Egypt.

 

Read More: Analysis: Egypt is losing its war against ISIS in Sinai – Middle East – Jerusalem Post