Highlights
- Sinai Province destroys an Egyptian naval vessel using a Surface-to-Surface missile.
- Egyptian government gives contradictory versions of the event and threatens to jail journalists who publish non-government approved narratives.
- In June, Sinai Province launched a major conventional armed offensive against Egyptian forces stationed in North Sinai, killing over 70 soldiers in a span of 8 hours.
- Sinai Province is the name of ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula (Wilayaat Sinai).
ISIS Militants Wreck Naval Vessel, Overwhelm Egyptian Counter-Terrorism Offensive.
On 16th June 2015, militants from the Egyptian branch of ISIS – Sinai Province – destroyed a sea-borne vessel belonging to the Egyptian Navy, and posted photos of the disabled vessel in their social media accounts. The militants fired a surface-to-surface missile towards the vessel which was cruising off the coast from where the militants had established their presence. Upon impact, the missile exploded and engulfed the vessel in a ball of flame. This is the latest audacious attack conducted by emboldened jihadist insurgents entrenched in the Northern sectors of the Sinai Peninsula.
Reacting to this development, the Egyptian government initially denied that the vessel was attacked, but later rescinded on that statement and issued an official statement which attributed the destruction of the vessel to a fire-fight between the insurgents and the soldiers on-board. The government would later on warn journalists to stick to the official government narrative or risk being imprisoned or fined exorbitant fees for circulating the “wrong” version of the events.
The developments in Egypt’s Sinai region points to a government unable to effectively combat battle-hardened ISIS elements embedded in the region. The most audacious terror offensive occurred in June when Sinai Province launched a major conventional armed offensive against Egyptian forces stationed in North Sinai, killing over 70 soldiers within a span of 8 hours.
This update and analysis was created and compiled by Avraham ben Adam
