Brigade of the Jihadi Border in the Sinai (Jihadi Entity, Egypt)

• Local Name: كتيبة الرباط الجهادية بسيناء
• Transliteration: Katibat al-Ribat al-Jihadiya fi-Sina’a
• Alternatives: N/a
• Status: 2014 – 2015 (Disbanded)
• Conflicts: Sinai Islamist Insurgency

The Brigade of the Jihadi Border in the Sinai [KRJS; Katibat al-Ribat al-Jihadiya fi-Sina’a] was a short-lived and shadowy Islamist militant outfit that emerged after the Partisans of the Holy House [ABaM; Ansar Bait al-Maqdis] swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham] in November 2014. The KRJS remained loyal to al-Qa’ida and refused to pledge fealty to the leader of the DaIISh.¹ The group rejected the monopolistic pretentions of the Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS; Dawlat al-Islamiya Wilayat Sina’a].² It denounced the DaIISh’s lack of deference towards Islamic scholars, the flimsy basis of its declaration of a caliphate and its theological creativity.³ Despite its sharp criticism of the organization, the KRJS recognized members of the DaIWS as brothers in jihad and vowed cooperation against their common enemy.⁴

The KRJS first emerged on Dec. 15, 2014 when it announced its existence in a mission statement published on al-Qa’ida-affiliated internet forums.⁵ It claimed to be focused on attacking Americans and Jews as well as their alleged local agents.⁶ In January 2015, the group released a new statement in which it threatened Bedouin government-allied tribal defense militias.⁷ The KRJS claimed to wage jihad in silence, but it was never linked to violent activities. The outfit failed to reach operational maturity and disappeared in early 2015.