Militants Assassinate Egyptian Military Official
Egyptian General Adel Ragaei was killed by gunmen outside of his house in Cairo on October 22 in an attack later claimed by a small militant group called Liwa al-Thawra (The Revolution Brigade). The general had commanded a unit in the Sinai Peninsula, an area where many government officials are targeted by armed insurgents. His death marks not only the most high-profile attack on an Egyptian official in recent years but also an expansion outside of the group’s typical operating territories in Sinai. General Ragaei led a counterterrorism unit in Sinai and headed the operation to close tunnels used to smuggle items between Egypt and Gaza Strip. His role within larger Egyptian military campaigns made him a high-level target who would raise the profile of the responsible terrorist group and raise the security stakes for Egypt. Liwa al-Thawra’s careful attack necessitated planning and effort, as the armed men had to have positioned themselves completely undetected outside of Ragaei’s house at a strategic time as he left for work. The precision of this small armed group provides a warning to Egypt’s counterterrorism efforts, expanding the potential reach of extremist actors.
Normally, militants in Sinai have limited their attacks to officials in the Peninsula without spreading into mainland Egypt. Assassination attempts on high-ranking officials in Cairo have been rare in the last few years. The most recent assassination attempt occurred in the summer of 2015 when a prosecutor general’s bus was targeted in a bus bombing.
The country heightened its security preparedness after this violent attack by a relatively unknown group, who were identified by Egyptian officials as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic government ousted by the military in 2013. It is possible that the labeling of the militants was politically motivated; nonetheless, extremists in Sinai expand the list of successful terrorist strikes without significant hindrance. The ability of the radicals to organize despite the drastic crackdown on hard-line Islamic and militant groups has endangered the lives of Egyptian government officials and threatened its stability as violence in the region continues.
The Sinai Peninsula has witnessed militancy problems since 2011, and attacks there have increased further after former President Morsi was removed by a military coup in 2013. Islamist groups have capitalized on the instability of changing regimes since the Arab Spring removed Egypt’s long-time dictator, Hosni Mubarak.
Most Sinai attacks target Egyptian military or government officials, such as police officers or judicial administrators. In response, the government has been attempting to address the insurgency with operations and extensive efforts such as establishing secure military checkpoints or working with locals to bust weapons-smuggling routes, but internal dissent directed towards the efforts combined with economic problems have rendered them ineffective.
Since the start of the militancy, over 2,000 people have been killed in the peninsula, including civilians. The Islamist group dominating the violence is called Sinai Province (SP), a group that aligned with the Islamic State (IS) after IS began to expand into Sinai. SP has started to use tactics similar to IS, including media broadcasting and recruitment, propaganda videos, and direct appeals to civilians to revolt against the government. However, many other groups still operate separately from SP, ensuring against a monopoly on violence.
The peacekeeping organization Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) has also been targeted in attacks, although in a more limited amount compared to Egyptian government officials. The MFO was created in 1981 as a UN-independent peacekeeping force designed to ensure that rules of the 1978 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty were upheld. Many of the troops in the MFO are Americans. The MFO speculates that the attacks against them are a show of continued solidarity by Sinai Province with IS, which is highly targeted by the U.S. and would prioritize American casualties over Egyptian. However, most militants, including Sinai Province, concentrate on Egyptian troops and agents.