A recent police raid on one of the hotbeds of Egyptian Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis armed group has been widely hailed in local media. The raid was seen as a big blow to the Sinai-based jihadist group which has claimed a series of attacks on army and police since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Morsi in July last year. Some observers said the raid came as "revenge" for the killing of six military soldiers in an attack on their checkpoint in Musturud district in north of Cairo on 15 March. The Interior Ministry blamed Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis for the attack. Early on 19 March, security forces raided what they said a hotbed of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in Al- Qalyubiyah Governorate (north of Cairo), killing six members of the group and arresting eight others. In a statement after the raid, the Interior Ministry said Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis used a wood workshop in Al-Qalyubiyah for hiding explosive materials and firearms to be used in their "terrorist" attacks. Automatic rifles, pistols, a large quantity of ammunition, four explosive belts, and five explosive devices were seized in the site, according to the Interior Ministry's spokesman. Initial investigations revealed that the militant group was planning to carry out two attacks in Greater Cairo. On 18 March - only one day before the raid - a statement purportedly issued by the Mujahidin Shura Council jihadist group stated that Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis was expected to carry out more attacks against tourists and economic institutions. Former assistant Interior Minister Imad Abu-al-Futuh said that the statement "proves that Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is just a terrorist group that commits monstrous crimes which they claim that the police and the army carried out." Egyptian TV channels and social networking sites shared a video clip on raiding the hotbed of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. In an unusual practice, the video clip was made available to TV channels and social media, apparently by security institutions. The video showed armed policemen and armoured vehicles as they were in the place before the day broke. A heavy exchange of fire occurred afterwards and explosions were also heard. There were also fires and beams of lights observed with the daylight. Some cars and parts of buildings were damaged during the shootout. Corpses of at least two militants with explosives around their waists were shown in the video. Afterwards, machine guns and dozens of big canisters believed to contain explosives were also displayed in the video. A white poster reading in Arabic "Battle of retaliation for killing Abu-Ubaydah" was shown in the video and was said to be a banner for a planned attack by the group. Abu-Ubaydah is believed to be one of the leaders of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The militant group has recently announced that Abu-Ubaydah was killed when an explosive device he was carrying exploded, but the army announced a day earlier that he was killed in a raid in Sinai. The recent raid on Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis's hotbed has received a wave of praise in local media. In its 21 March editorial, state-run Al-Ahram daily said the raid "proved the high skills of the security forces as regards accurate information, planning and implementation". "One of the main positive aspects of the campaign is to alert people to take care of the strangers who suddenly appear and live among us in certain places," it added. "No criminal will evade punishment and no terrorist will escape from his terrorism," Al-Ahram said. Some newspapers said the raid was a pre-emptive strike against the militant group. "The army and police deal a pre-emptive blow to terrorism," read a front-page headline run by privately-owned daily Al-Misri al-Yawm on 20 March. "Revenge; army and police forces avenge for Musturud's martyrs and kill six terrorists and arrest four others," read another headline run by privately-owned daily Al-Yawm al-Sabi. "Army and police continue to uproot terrorism," read a headline run by Al-Ahram. Writer Mustafa al-Tawil of Al-Wafd daily called for re-instating the state of emergency to face terrorism. He said: "In order to face the escalating terrorism, which is expected to continue ahead of the forthcoming election, I think that it is necessary to declare a state of emergency in the country and to go back to the extraordinary laws, including swift trials." For his part, Ibrahim Mansur of private daily Al-Tahrir argued that terrorism will continue but will not affect democratic transition in Egypt. "Acts of terror will continue, maybe for years. The [Islamist] groups which ruled Egypt consider Egypt as their private farm and they still think that they have authority and are the legitimate rulers," he said. "But they [Islamists] do not realize that people have changed and are willing to pay the bill to reap the fruits of the Egyptian revolution. People are ready to sacrifice a lot for the sake of the future of this nation," he added.
