Army claims to have killed ‘mufti of the militants’

Security forces have confirmed the death of Abou Mounir, “the mufti of militants,” in a Tuesday military raid in northern Sinai.

Armed Forces spokesperson Mohamed Ahmed Ali described Mounir as “one of the most dangerous militant Islamists in the area” in a statement on his official Facebook page.

Mounir was a member of Jihadi group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes (Protectors of Jerusalem), according to the state-owned Al-Ahram news portal. The group has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks, including the November killing of senior police officer Mohamed Mabrouk. In an online statement, the group said that the dead officer was “one of the big lords of State Security.”

Ansar Beit al-Maqdes also claimed to have carried out the September attempt to assassinate Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim with a car bomb in Cairo. The explosion injured more than 20 people.

A local resident told Mada Masr Tuesday that Mounir was killed in the North Sinai village of Muqataa, known for the presence of militant Islamists. The source, however, disputed the military’s claim that Mounir was a member of Ansar Beit al-Maqdes.

Asking to remain anonymous, the man said that Mounir comes from Sinai’s Sawarka tribe and was known to be a preacher favored by hardline Islamists, but was not himself involved in militant activities. Mounir was imprisoned during the rule of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Mounir is alleged to have planned and executed the August attack in Arish, which saw 25 police conscripts shot dead, according to Al-Ahram.

The portal added that Abou Mounir's son was also killed in the raid on Muqataa, and arms and ammunition were found at the scene following the military’s attack.

Sinai-based observers say that the group, which first appeared in 2011, is believed to have international links. While Ansar Beit al-Maqdes originally focused on making direct attacks on Israel, it is now believed that the group is intensifying its campaign against Egypt’s military-led government in retaliation for the removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Since the July ouster of Morsi, the state has engaged in what it calls a “war on terror,” pursuing militant groups in northern Sinai and attempting to curb the worsening violence in the peninsula.