Area of ISIS authority according to leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Amir al-Mu'minin, Caliph Ibrahim), announced in June 2014.
Following Tuesday's statement, "ISIS is a brand name," by associate professor of Middle Eastern politics at the University of Oklahoma, Samer Shehata, further deaths in north Sinai were reported, as a mortar attack was launched in an area that was being heavily shelled by both militants and the Egyptian army. Egyptian security officials spoke to the media under the condition of anonymity, as they were not permitted to discuss any of the details of the incident.
While north Sinai has gained a reputation as a "hub" for Islamic extremists, following a progressive development in the area since the early 2000s, violence has recently surged in the northern region of Egypt. Militant activity, as well as the prominence of jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, increased over the last year after Egypt's first elected president, Mohamed Morsi, also an Islamist, was ousted by the military.
After militants killed 31 Egyptian troops last month, a major operation was launched by the government, leading to the destruction of housing along the Gaza strip border. Then, on Friday, militants, claiming to represent Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, posted an online video to claim credit for the 31 deaths-the group also pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Monday.
So far, the militants in Tuesday's attack have not been specifically linked to Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, but this might be due to the restrictions placed on the security officials' ability to speak freely to the media. The mortar attack struck the village of Negah Shebana and, of the 10 deaths, seven are civilians and three are militants. All seven of the killed civilians were members of a prominent Bedouin family, but no further details are known at this stage. The Bedouin are an Arab ethnic group that is predominantly located in desert areas.
Although Shehata used the term "brand," she further explains that the various smaller groups that have aligned with ISIS do not share the same goals, and should therefore not be referred to as "franchises." Shehata said: "The allegiance only goes so far, and, in fact, there could be in the future issues they differ on".
