APPREHENDED
- Full name: Ismail Abdullah Hamdan Abu Shita
- Pseudonym: N/a
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Sinai
- Affiliation: fmr Assembly of Monotheism and Jihad in the Sinai [JTJS]
Ismail Abu Shita is a Bedouin jihadi from the Sinai Peninsula. In the early 2000s, he joined the Assembly of Monotheism and Jihad in the Sinai [JTJS; Jama’at Tawhid wal-Jihad]. Abu Shita was involved in preparations for the 2004 bombings against tourists in and around Taba. He was arrested as security forces cracked down on the JTJS in the wake of the attacks.1 Abu Shita was released by the government of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in the early 2010s.2
Following his release, Abu Shita returned to militancy. He was linked to several attacks against the police in the Sinai.3 Abu Shita was seen as one of the chief perpetrators of the August 2012 massacre of sixteen soldiers near Rafah.4 He was also linked to the March 2013 abduction of seven members of the security forces in order to have his imprisoned brother released.5 On Sep. 21, 2013, the authorities arrested Abu Shita in the city of Arish.6
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