The recent apprehension of two Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis members in the mountainous area of central Sinai has been hailed as a breakthrough in the Egyptian security agencies' efforts to uproot one of the most dangerous jihadist militias in the area. The two men had in their possession codes that may help sever lines of communication between the members of this group in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt and abroad, especially in Gaza. The group uses coded messages through social networking sites and secured wireless devices to communicate. Security authorities are currently working to break the codes which they believe will help unearth many details about the terrorist organisation and its members. A source closely connected with the security and intelligence agencies operating in Sinai told Al-Ahram Weekly that Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis is a quasi-cluster organisation consisting of cells with no more than six to 10 members. Each group has its own codes though there are members that serve as links between them. Most are connected by a single thread which is to carry out operations. The source said that because of its structure and use of codes the organisation was vulnerable to penetration, especially now that, with the arrest of two of the organisation's field commanders, the security agencies and military intelligence have access to firmer information. Terrorist groups operating in Sinai have also received another blow. Military spokesman Mohamed Ali has reported that Abdel-Fattah Salem, the head of the Al-Takfir wal-Higra (Excommunication and Exodus) organisation in Sinai, and his brother have been apprehended in the Kharouba district of Rafah. Among the most dangerous jihadist elements in the Sinai, the two men had been tried and convicted in absentia. Al-Takfir wal-Higra has been active in Sinai since 2004. The military spokesman said 36 other members were apprehended. That the second half of the organisation's name — higra — which implies that it is committed to “emigrating” away from a society it declares anathema, has perplexed some analysts. The organisation has not claimed responsibility for any terrorist attacks in Sinai even if many of its members have been involved in criminal acts. Ali Bakr, an expert on radical Islamist groups, told the Weekly “while it is true that this group had not previously taken recourse to arms inside the country it hates society and condemns it and the state as heretic.” “When the conditions for combat exist, however, it will fight as is illustrated by incidents in Algeria carried out by the same organisation. [The organisation] is extremely dangerous to society because it wages a war on the basis of a creed that it regards as true. The government must act to purge the area of [this organisation's] lairs and the groups and gangs that support it.” In the 1990s the government apprehended some 14,000 members of affiliated groups in the course of a six-month sweep. In the recent campaign security forces have arrested around 1,000 and destroyed dozens of huts that they used for shelter. In a related development Egyptian security forces arrested Aref Diab, a Hamas security agent, as he attempted to enter Egypt through one of the Gaza-Sinai tunnels near the Salaheddin gateway. A sniper rifle with silencer, a telescope, a gun and ammunition were found in his possession as well as plans to assassinate political and military figures during the Morsi trial. He was handed over to military intelligence in Sinai and from there transferred to Cairo for interrogation. At the same time two brothers from Hamas were apprehended attempting to enter Egypt by tunnel. Hamas denies any connection with Diab and Hamas media spokesman Sami Abu Zahri has said he does not belong to the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas also denies any link with recent attempts to smuggle missile launch pads into Sinai though the platforms bore the emblem of the Qassam Brigades. According to a Sinai source that has been monitoring developments there is a bustling trade in weapons in the area. Nor does Hamas necessarily support all the armed factions that are working in Sinai on behalf of the Muslim Brothers. “The arms trade is very active on the Palestinian side despite security clampdowns. Weapons leave the Hamas movement's arsenals for many purposes.” Samir Ghattas, director of the Middle East Forum Centre, told the Weekly: “It is hard to believe that, under these sensitive and dangerous circumstances, a person belonging to Hamas would be apprehended and be found carrying a laptop containing lists of military and security assassination targets in Egypt. Hamas is clever and it is hard to imagine it falling into a trap of this sort unless it was bent on suicide.” Even the sale of weapons such as missiles and missile launchers was very limited and sometimes occurred without Hamas approval, says Ghattas. “There is a ‘military brigade' in Rafah that belongs to the Qassam Brigades and that has begun to show signs of great wealth. It is presumed that this resulted from smuggling operations, some of which may have involved the smuggling of arms belonging to the Qassam Brigades. There is also evidence that Hamas stored large quantities of arms in warehouses outside Gaza before the last war with Israel so that they would not be destroyed and remain a strategic reserve. In view of Hamas's inability to control the whole of Gaza, especially its fringes, and given that its hands are tied in Sinai it is possible that some persons aware of the existence of those warehouses began to sell their contents.” Sinai activist Ghazi Abu Farag is not convinced. “They're all allies and arrangements exist between them. When exactly these groups act depends on conditions in the field. Despite ideological differences they draw together in times of danger. I am certain that Hamas has concluded agreements with Al-Qaeda and that if any disturbance threatens its political position in Gaza it will turn to all other groups for help — Al-Qaeda above all. And Al-Qaeda will come to its aid to confront any existential threat. It is not difficult to imagine Hamas trading in arms in Egypt. What is there to prevent it? It has the weapons and smuggling them [into Egypt] is not impossible.”
