Base Organization on the Sinai Peninsula (Jihadi Entity, Egypt)

by | Apr 18, 2018 | Egypt Coverage, Militant Entity Profiles

  • Local Name: القاعدة فى جزيرة السيناء
  • Transliteration: al-Qa’ida fi-Jazirat al-Sina’a
  • Alternatives: Al-Qa’ida on the Sinai Peninsula
  • Status: 2011 – Dormant
  • Conflicts: Sinai Islamist Insurgency

The Base Organization on the Sinai Peninsula [AQSP; al-Qa’ida fi-Jazirat al-Sina’a] was a small and shadowy jihadi network that acted as the local al-Qa’ida branch in the Sinai. It was based on Mount Halal, but operated across the North Sinai governorate.1 Although network operatives took part in several attacks, its main focus was to provide logistical support to jihadis operating on the peninsula. The AQSP had approximately 150 members. The group’s ranks included militants from the Gaza Strip and Yemen.2

The AQSP had a Salafi ideological background and sought to establish an Islamic state in the Sinai.3 The group took up local issues. It advocated an end to Egypt’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and aimed to end discrimination against the Bedouin.4 The AQSP was strongly opposed to peace between Egypt and Israel.5

The group was set up by long-time al-Qa’ida operative Ramzi Mowafi after he had escaped from prison during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.6 He soon got into contact with remnants of the Assembly of Monotheism and Jihad in the Sinai [JTJS; Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad fi-Sina’a] and Sinai-based elements of the Army of Islam [JaI; Army of Islam].7 In July 2011, AQSP operatives distributed leaflets in Arish announcing the formation of a local al-Qa’ida branch and declaring allegiance to Osama Bin Laden.8 Mowafi and his associates started training jihadis at makeshift camps near Rafah.9 In late July, the group’s fighters reportedly participated in an attack on an Arish police station in which five people were killed.10

In December 2011, Mowafi and his followers set up the Partisans of Jihad on the Sinai Peninsula [AJJS; Ansar al-Jihad fi-Jazirat al-Sina’a].11 On Dec. 18, cadres of the outfit blew up a segment of a gas pipeline.12 A month later, it formally pledged allegiance to new al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.13 In February 2012, the AJJS again bombed a gas pipeline.14

Despite these operations, the AQSP continued to focus on its role as a facilitator for other militant groups in the Sinai. The group provided logistical support, training and financial backing to jihadis active on the peninsula.15 Its operatives also transferred large quantities of weapons from the Gaza Strip and Libya to local militant groups.16

In the first years of the insurgency in the Sinai, the AQSP had close ties to most of the groups active on the peninsula. It was tied to the Partisans of the Holy House [ABaM; Ansar Bait al-Maqdis]. The AQSP likely acted as an intermediary between the group and al-Qa’ida’s central leadership. It also helped coordinate the ABaM’s operations.17 The AQSP was furthermore linked to the Organization of the Black Banners [TRaS; Tanzim Rayat al-Sawda] with which it apparently shared members. The group also provided unspecified assistance to Adel Habara’s Partisans and Holy Warriors [AwM; Ansar wal-Mujahideen].18

At the same time, the AQSP was also in contact with al-Qa’ida-affiliated militants from the Gaza Strip. It was especially close with the Dugmush clan’s JaI which reportedly provided financial support to Mowafi and his associates.19 The group was furthermore linked to elements within the Islamic Resistance Movement [HAMAS; Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya] and the Popular Resistance Committees [PRC; Lijan al-Muqawama al-Shabiya]. The AQSP’s cooperation with these two organizations was probably confined to weapons smuggling.20

As the ABaM ascended and consolidated militancy in the Sinai, the AQSP faded. This trend became especially pronounced following the ABaM’s transformation into the Islamic State’s Province of Sinai [DaIWS; Dawlat al-Islamiya Wilayat Sina’a]. Nowadays, the AQSP no longer plays a significant role in the insurgency on the peninsula and the group appears to be mostly dormant. Mowafi himself is believed to have become more involved with the central al-Qa’ida organization in recent years.

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