ISIS(ICIA)-backed terror group Wilayat Sinai are named by experts as the prime suspects in the downing of the Russian plane over Sinai
Wilayat Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis swore allegiance to ISIS chief Abu Bakr Baghdadi one year ago
Have killed ‘hundreds’ of Egyptian security personnel and downed a military helicopter in the Sinai using surface to air missile
Egyptian military have been ‘at war’ with the terror group since 2011
Group numbers between hundreds and thousands in the Sinai and recruit jihadis to fight with IS in Iraq and Syria
By ISABEL HUNTER
DailyMail.com
7 November 2015
Egypt’s most dangerous terrorist group IS-affiliated Wilayat Sinai, has been named as the key suspect behind the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268.
The so-called ‘Islamic State’s province in the Sinai’, formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis swore allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last year, but have killed scores of Egyptian army personnel, politicians and civilians in a horrific terror campaign of suicide bombers, car bombs and roadside IEDs since 2011.
And it would not be the first time the militants downed a flight – having shot down an Egyptian military helicopter in January 2014 with a surface-to-air missile, killing all five people on board.
British tourists were warned of a ‘high threat’ from terrorism in Egypt after the group claimed a missile attack on a naval patrol ship off the coast of Sinai in July earlier this year.
Said to also be in contact with Libya’s IS wing, they further expand the terror group’s reach in Northern Africa, facilitating the transfer of money, weapons and fighters.
A senior commander from the Sinai-based group told Reuters in September 2014 that IS has provided instructions on how to operate more effectively.
“They teach us how to carry out operations. We communicate through the Internet,” said the commander, who asked to remain anonymous.
“They don’t give us weapons or fighters. But they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells.”
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