February 6, 2014 | Quote
Jihadi Threat Grows as Egypt Turns to al-Seesi for Security
The rise of Abdelfatah al-Seesi in Egypt is pouring fuel on an Islamist militant campaign that threatens his image as the only man who can restore stability.
The defense minister, who overthrew elected leader Mohamed Mursi in July, is increasingly touted as a presidential candidate himself, winning the blessing of fellow generals last month. Expectations that he’ll end Egypt’s turmoil are helping to drive gains on markets. Yet the army-backed government’s strategy for restoring order risks fueling reprisals by militant Islamist groups who are expanding their capacity to attack.
Bombings and shootings that were mostly confined to the Sinai peninsula have spread to Cairo and the Nile Delta. Militants claimed to have shot down a military helicopter in Sinai last month with surface-to-air missile, suggesting they have upgraded their arsenal. The army’s growing war against those groups runs in parallel with a drive to crush Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has left its leaders in jail and hundreds of its supporters dead.
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Ansar has been around since 2011, and there are suggestions of links to al-Qaeda, said David Barnett, a research associate at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington who specializes in Salafi jihadist groups. While some Brotherhood activists may be engaged in “low-level violence,” there’s little evidence to suggest the group’s involvement in bombings and assassinations, he said.
“The government sees itself as in an existential battle — it’s us or them, kill or be killed,” Barnett said. “They are so entrenched in that battle, they are losing sight of what’s developing around them, which is a serious jihadist threat.”