New militant group in Sinai splinters off Ansar Beit-al Maqdes

The Jihadi Ribat, a group purporting to be an offshoot of the Sinai-based militants Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, announced on Monday its break with the latter organization due to its allegiance with the Islamic State.

Last month, Ansar Beit al-Maqdes announced it would join the Islamic State, calling on all Egyptians to pledge their allegiances as well.

The Jihadi Ribat declared in its first statement that jihad is not subject to allegiances with certain groups or states, but rather only pledges allegiance to God under the slogan, “There is no god but God, and Mohamed is his prophet.”

The statement warned Ansar Beit al-Maqdes to follow the teachings of Islamic scholars and stop following its own interpretation of religion.

The Jihadi Ribat went on to declare it would not pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the appointed caliph of the Islamic State, as he had not fulfilled the basic, legitimate criteria required to establish a caliphate.

“Some announced that the jihad in Sinai only follows them [Ansar Beit al-Maqdes] and that Sinai is their state,” the strongly worded statement contended, but the Jihadi Ribat wanted to dispel that misconception.

Jihad had extended to all the people of Sinai, and not just Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, the group insisted.

The Armed Forces had tried to enlist the people of Sinai to help protect Egypt’s borders with Israel, but when they refused, the military attacked their families, homes and mosques in retribution, the statement claimed.

This prompted the residents of Sinai to join in their fight against the army, the Jihadi Ribat argued.

They have a common enemy, and a common goal of implementing “the rule of God and raising the banner of monotheism high” as they put an end to injustice, the statement continued.

However, despite the break with Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, the two groups would still be “brothers” unless the latter group violated religion or deviated from the path of Islam, in which case the Jihadi Ribat would be willing to die for their religion, the statement warned.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdes has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Sinai on police and military personnel. The group also claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile assaults on public figures and offices, including an assassination attempt on the interior minister in September 2013 and the bombing of the Cairo Security Directorate in January 2014.

The government has launched a crackdown on North Sinai in response, which intensified after 33 soldiers were killed in an attack on the Karm al-Qawadees checkpoint near Rafah on October 24.