Mohammed Jamal Network (Jihadi Entity, Egypt)

• Local Name: N/a
• Transliteration: N/a
• Alternatives: N/a
• Status: 2011 – 2014 (Disbanded)
• Conflicts: Islamist Militancy in Egypt, Sinai Islamist Insurgency, Libyan Civil War

The Mohammed Jamal Network [MJN] was an Egyptian jihadi entity that served as an al-Qa’ida support structure during the early 2010s. It was set up by former commander of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad Organization [EIJ] Mohammed el-Kashif after he had been released from prison by the military authorities in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.¹ Kashif quickly reconnected with his former associates and rekindled ties to al-Qa’ida leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, Qasim al-Raimi and Nasir al-Wuhayshi.² His network received financial support from the Base Organization on the Arab Peninsula [AQAP; Tanzim Qa’idat fi-Jazirat al-Arab].³ Tarek Abu Azzam served as the MJN’s deputy leader. Other key operatives in the network were Karim al-Bedawi and Ali Marghani.⁴

Kashif and his associates were closely connected to several Libyan-based jihadi groups, most notably the Benghazi Partisans of Shari’a [ASB; Ansar al-Shari’a fi-Benghazi] and the Brigades of the Captured Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman [KSAOAR; Kata’eb al-Sheikh al-Asir Omar Abdul Rahman].⁵ They were also in touch with the Base Organization in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM; Tanzim al-Qa’ida fi-Bilad al-Maghreb al-Islami].⁶ In the spring of 2011, the MJN set up a camp in the east of the country and went on to train members of the allied groups over the next two years.⁷ Some of the ASB fighters who participated in the September 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi were trained at the facility.⁸ The MJN is also said to have helped prepare suicide terrorists.⁹ Kashif and his men also set up an arms smuggling network that shipped weapons from Libya via Alexandria to the Sinai and the Gaza Strip.¹⁰

The MJN also became active on the Sinai Peninsula where it provided vital support for several newly created jihadi outfits, including the Partisans of the Holy House [ABaM; Ansar Bait al-Maqdis].¹¹ It set up two training camps for their fighters and supplied the outfits with weapons.¹² Kashif’s network also delivered arms to the Gaza-based Armies of Monotheism and Jihad in Palestine [JTJF; Jahafil al-Tawhid wal-Jihad fi-Filastin] and the Popular Resistance Committees [PRC; Lijan al-Muqawama al-Shabiya].¹³

The MJN was linked with several al-Qa’ida cells active in Egypt. It was tied to the Abu el-Ela Module [AEM] which was planning to attack the American and French embassies in Cairo.¹⁴ The network was furthermore deeply intertwined with the Nassr City Cell [NCC]. MJN operatives directed the cell and provided it with weapons. The NCC made vague plans to attack politicians and public figures, diplomatic missions, Egyptian security forces and several ministries before deciding to strike American warships traveling on the Suez Canal.¹⁵ The module was preparing for the operation when it was rolled up by Egyptian security services in October 2012. Several senior MJN militants were caught up in the crackdown. Kashif was arrested on Dec. 09, 2012.¹⁶

Kashif’s network remained active for some time after his arrest.¹⁷ Its continued activities worried the American government which designated it as a terrorist organization on Oct. 07, 2013.¹⁸ The United Nations similarly recognized the network as a terrorist group a few weeks later.¹⁹ The MJN disintegrated soon afterwards under the intense pressure of the Egyptian security forces.²⁰ Some of the network’s key members were convicted for their role in the NCC by a Cairene court on Oct. 22, 2014.²¹ Kashif was sentenced to life imprisonment.