WarSclerotic

ISIS Wages Brutal War in Egyptian Sinai, Clarion Project, March 2, 2016

Islamic-State terrorist in the Sinai (Photo: Video screenshot from an Islamic State propaganda video)

The people of el-Arish were stunned this week when a caravan of SUVs drove up to the central square in the Egyptian Sinai town. Masked men emerged from the vehicles, shooting wildly into the air to make their presence known. Leading two captives, cowering under the terrorists, they immediately threw one of them on the ground, slaughtering him with a knife and then beheaded him.

The other captive was summarily shot in the head.

Civilians, shocked and terrified, began screaming. Blood was everywhere. But the Egyptian army and police – whose stations are located close by — were nowhere to be found.

The gunmen drove off, disappearing to an unknown location as quickly as they arrived. Eyewitness said many bystanders called the army and police during the event through an emergency hotline, but the only reply they received was from the hospital ambulance services, who said they were not allowed to take the bodies from the streets because they had not received instructions from the police.

The corpses remained in the square until 6 am the next morning at which time, the people took them themselves to the hospital morgue. Chaos ensued when the hospital refused to take possession as the bodies had not arrive in an ambulance.

Only after the gathering crowd threatened to ransack the hospital did they relent.

The victims were identified as Radi el-Bareeki, 43, a builder and contractor who was beheaded, and his son Suleiman, 17. The Bareekis were from the village of Charisa in the central Sinai. They had taken refuge in el-Arish after they were threatened by the Islamic State in Sinai (Wilyat-Sinai) for spying on the group for the Egyptian security forces.

Ten days earlier, the terror group published on social media the executions of two civilians also accused of spying for the security forces.

In the terror-laden Sinai, el-Arish was known as a safe haven which, until this latest event, had escaped the clutches of the brutal group.

“The Islamic State Sinai is one of the most brutal insurgent, terrorist and extremist groups. Considering their intentions to expand into Africa, IS Sinai presents an unprecedented threat not only to the security and stability of the Middle East but to Africa as well,” Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside al Qaeda and international terrorism expert told Clarion Project.

“With its far reaching expertise, IS Sinai will build its capabilities among like-minded groups both in North Africa and in the Sahel. Before IS Sinai’s influence and capabilities spread further, they should be contained, isolated and eliminated. Otherwise, IS Sinai will destabilize Egypt, the pivotal state linking Africa and the Middle East,” he added.

This video shows images of ISIS reportedly aiming rockets at el-Arish airport:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE5Vwun8jnc

This entry was posted on March 2, 2016 at 2:20 PM and is filed under Egypt, Islamic State, Siani. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Egypt, Islamic State, Siani