Jerusalem – A missile was fired from Gaza Strip into the Israeli town of Sderot on June 25. This attack was claimed, one day later, by Ahfad al-Sahaba (Grandsons of the Prophet's Companions)-Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis, a Palestinian rebel group. The group detailed in a statement that a number of its fighters successfully targeted Sderot in response to continuous breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish settlers. Late November 2016, the emergence of Ahfad al-Sahaba-Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis was made public for the first time after its leading commander Abo Anas delivered a 24-minute speech. He declared that the group is linked to Salafist Jihadi organizations in Palestine. The group is also linked with Majlis Shura al-Mujahedin Fi Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis (the Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem), whose foundation was announced in 2012, and Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Organization of Monotheism and Jihad), which carried out explosions in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab and Nuweiba in 2004 and is one of the main factions that formed Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem) after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The latter two groups had close ties with Al-Qaeda organization, led by Egyptian Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
