Sobhi al-Attar (Jihadi Militant, Egypt)

• Full name: Sobhi Mohammed Sobhi al-Attar
• Pseudonym: N/a
• Alternatives: Hamsawi Attar
• Location: Sinai, Gaza Strip
• Affiliation: Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS], fmr Islamic Resistance Movement [HAMAS]

Sobhi al-Attar (°ca 1995) was an Islamist militant from Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. His uncle Ra’ed al-Attar was a senior commander of the Islamic Resistance Movement [HAMAS; Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya] until he was eliminated by the Israeli army in 2014.¹ Attar too joined HAMAS as a young man.² He was later drawn to radical Salafism. Despite strong opposition by his family, Attar later linked up with Salafi jihadi elements active in the Gaza Strip.³

In April 2017, Attar sneaked into the Sinai where he joined the Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS; Dawlat al-Islamiya Wilayat Sina’a].⁴ Attar became involved in efforts to recruit fellow Gazans into the ranks of the DaIWS and probably helped train the organization’s snipers.⁵ He was killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces and allied tribal militias in May 2017.⁶ His death was later confirmed by relatives.⁷