The Salafist-jihadist group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, which is probably responsible for the terror attack on the tourist bus in the Taba border crossing between Israel and Egypt Sunday, have two sworn enemies: The current Egyptian regime, which is being led by Abdel Fateh al-Sisi, and of course Israel.

Both its enemies have an open account with the group that keeps on growing. The Egyptian army, specifically Egypt’s Third Army, has been conducting an all-out war against the terror group in northern and central Sinai. Israel, on the other hand, is primarily the ideological and religious enemy which the al-Qaeda affiliated group is sworn to fight.

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis numbers around 200 operatives. The organization which was born after the ouster of former Egyptian president Hossni Mubarak a little more than two year ago, expanded its terror activities from the Sinai Peninsula and into Egypt proper after the July ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, with which the group had placed its loyalties. Hence, the group has recently launched a number of terror attacks against senior officials in the new Egyptian regime and against the Egyptian forces within Egypt, but without neglecting its activities in Sinai.

Read the article in full at Ynet.