Elizabeth HagedornGiven its vision to install a global Islamic caliphate, it should come as no surprise that ISIS is now calling on its allies in Egypt to increase attacks on the country's security forces.
In a new message, ISIS encouraged fellow militants to "attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads." (Video via YouTube / Foukoul Hani Rif)
A chilling order, but Egypt was dealing with a terrorist problem long before the rise of ISIS. (Video via YouTube / va0lent1)
Militant attacks have become increasingly common ever since U.S.-backed President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi overthrew Egypt’s democratically-elected, Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in a military-backed coup last summer.
In an attempt to restore political stability, el-Sissi has cracked down on Morsi's Islamist backers in the Muslim Brotherhood.
But that’s only motivated the insurgents in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The region’s become a ripe breeding ground for extremists, in part due to its proximity to Syria, Libya and Iraq. (Video via CBS)
Most recently, a Sinai-based group calling itself Ajnad Misr took credit for a bombing in downtown Cairo this weekend that killed two police officers. (Video via Euronews)
The group is small in numbers, but experts warn of its potential to carry out more “lone wolf attacks.” (Video via Al-Monitor)
Greater in numbers is Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. Otherwise known as Champion of Jerusalem, the group has killed hundreds of Egyptian security forces in the past year alone. (Video via SITE Intelligence Group)
The group's Al-Qaeda-inspired attacks include the downing of an Egyptian military helicopter and an attempt to assassinate Egypt’s interior minister.
Egypt is among the 40 or so countries providing the U.S. with support in the fight ISIS. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently said Egypt has a critical role to play, but did not elaborate on what that role might look like.
