BICOM

The commander of ISIS in the Sinai was killed by an Egyptian military strike yesterday, according to media reports.

In a Facebook post, Egyptian military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir said that terror commander Abu Doaa al-Ansari was killed in an airstrike that hit a house in olive groves south of the city of el-Arish in northern Sinai.  While Sinai Province, the ISIS affiliate in the region, has not yet confirmed that al-Ansari was killed in the strike, the Egyptian military has released aerial photographs that appear to match this account.

If confirmed, al-Ansari’s death would mark a significant victory in Egypt’s struggle against ISIS in Sinai.  He was believed to be responsible for attacks on UN bases in the Sinai. The Sinai Province ISIS group is also the prime suspect in the bombing of Metrojet Flight 9268 in October 2015, which killed 224 people.

Sinai Province has also launched several attacks on Israel including rockets on Eilat in 2013 and 2015 and cross-border raids. On Wednesday, the group released a video threatening more attacks, claiming “Jews will not remain in Palestine, we will turn it into a graveyard for Jews”.

Israel is particularly concerned about ISIS in Sinai given developing links between the group and Hamas. Originally, Hamas was hostile to Salafi-jihadi groups, seeing them as a threat. However, in recent years Hamas’s military wing has cooperated with ISIS in Sinai, including by establishing production lines for weapons and explosives, two-way smuggling across the Sinai-Gaza border, training for ISIS elements in Sinai, medical treatment in Gaza hospitals for ISIS operatives wounded in clashes with the Egyptian army, and shelter and hospitality in Gaza for ISIS operatives.

In recent days, the Egyptian military has conducted a number of strikes against ISIS positions, reportedly killing 45 fighters and destroying weapons depots close to Rafah on the border with Gaza.