Brigade of the Revolution (Ikhwani Entity, Egypt)

The Brigade of the Revolution [LeT; Liwa el-Thawra] is a small Muslim Brotherhood-linked militant group operating in Egypt’s Nile Delta and Greater Cairo regions.¹ It wants to overthrow the regime of Abdelfatah el-Sisi and reinstate deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.²

The LeT espouses an Ikhwani ideology that combines an Islamist worldview with strong nationalist sentiments.³ Unlike other militant groups aligned to the Muslim Brotherhood, the LeT has taken inspiration from Salafi jihadis.⁴ The group has acknowledged the teachings of certain al-Qa’ida ideologues and occasionally uses jihadi terminology.⁵ Despite these tendencies, the LeT opposes the radicalism of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh, Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham] and condemned the attacks on churches by its Egyptian branch.⁶

Many of the LeT’s members have participated in demonstrations against the 2013 army coup and took part in the Brotherhood’s earlier militant campaigns.⁷ LeT members are trained at makeshift camps in the deserts surrounding Fayoum and in neighboring Sudan.⁸ Some operatives are thought to have traveled to Syria where they received training at camps ran by the Army of Mohammed in Syria [JMS; Jaish al-Mohammed fi-Suria].⁹

The LeT operates under the supervision of Muslim Brotherhood elements in Qatar, Sudan and Turkey.¹⁰ The Decisiveness Movement [HaH; Harakat al-Hasam] is probably led by the same people.¹¹ None of the LeT’s commanders on the ground have been identified to date. Salahaddin Youssef has emerged as the group’s spokesperson.¹²

Like other Muslim Brotherhood-linked outfits, the LeT devotes considerable attention to public relations. The group claims its attacks and provides footage of its operations.¹³ It has also explained its actions and motivations.¹⁴ The LeT maintains its own social media accounts and spreads its message through well-known media operatives of the Brotherhood.¹⁵

Historical Overview

The LeT was established in 2016 by Muslim Brotherhood elements who wanted to revive the campaign of violence unleashed after the 2013 army coup.¹⁶ They reorganized remnants of Brotherhood-linked outfits that had fallen in disarray following a ferocious crackdown by the authorities and formed two new organizations; the LeT and the HaH.¹⁷

The LeT launched its first operation on Aug. 21, 2016, when its cadres attacked a police checkpoint in the Menoufiya governorate, killing two officers. The group claimed responsibility for the incident in a statement distributed on the internet. It also released video footage of the attack.¹⁸ On Oct. 22, the LeT reemerged when operatives assassinated an Egyptian army general outside his residence in the town of Obour.¹⁹ The group killed the officer to avenge the death of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Kamal.²⁰ A few months later, operatives bombed a police training facility in Tanta on Apr. 01, 2017.²¹

The LeT has also been linked to several other attacks, including the failed bid to assassinate a judge in Cairo’s Nassr City suburb and the Mar. 27, 2017 killing of a policeman in Dumyat.²² The group never claimed responsibility for these incidents.

In response to the LeT’s attacks, the Egyptian authorities aggressively pursued the outfit. Over the years, the group has been targeted in dozens of operations across the country.²³ On some occasions, LeT members were killed by security forces. In late 2016, four operatives were killed in two separate raids in the Menoufiya governorate.²⁴ Seven other LeT militants were killed by police forces in 2017.²⁵ By the summer of 2018, more than fifty LeT members were in custody. More than 200 others had been charged by the authorities.²⁶ The crackdown significantly eroded the LeT’s ability to launch further attacks. Nowadays, the group’s activities are confined to making occasional statements.

In the meanwhile, the British government labelled the group as a terrorist organization in late 2017.²⁷ On Jan. 31, 2018, America likewise designated the LeT as a terrorist outfit.²⁸

External Linkages

The LeT is closely linked to segments within the Muslim Brotherhood. It is aligned to supporters of the late Mohammed Kamal.²⁹ These elements guide the outfit and actively help spread its message.³⁰ Turkish-based Brotherhood militant Yehya Moussa reportedly helps coordinate the activities of the LeT.³¹ Other Muslim Brothers exiled in Qatar and Turkey are believed to provide financial support.³²

While the LeT has publicly denied links to the HaH, both groups are thought to have cooperated on training and share the same sources of funding and supervision.³³ Some operatives of the LeT are suspected of having been members of the HaH before joining the group.³⁴ The HaH has publicly supported the LeT and congratulated it for successful operations.³⁵