Sinai Province: Egypt’s most dangerous group

The militant group Sinai Province is the most active insurgent group in Egypt. It has been linked to a number of deadly attacks, mostly in North Sinai, but also in the capital, Cairo, and other provinces.

The Islamist group, initially known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem), has been active in the Sinai Peninsula since 2011.

It changed its name after it pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group in November 2014.

In 2015, Sinai Province staged a series of attacks against the army, whose scale and complexity indicated the possibility of closer coordination with the IS leadership in Syria.

Sinai Province is thought to be aiming to take control of the Sinai Peninsula in order to turn it into an Islamist province run by IS.

The number of active Sinai Province members is believed to be between 1,000 and 1,500.

It has expanded its operations outside Sinai by creating cells in some governorates, including Cairo and Giza.

These cells have claimed several attacks, including one on a security building in the northern province of Dakahliya in December 2013, which killed at least 15 people and injured over 100.

The group’s operations have also reached the Western Desert, an area popular with tourists for its oases and rock formations, but which has also become a militant hideout due to its proximity to volatile Libya.