Washington D.C. - U.S. State Department's 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism revealed that despite the decline in terrorist attacks in the world last year, terrorist groups have continued their attempts to expand, channel and inspire terrorist cells, networks and individuals to carry out terrorist attacks around the world. The annual report on global terrorism highlighted the role of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the armed forces in the war against terrorist groups. The report, released on July 19, 2017, stated that the Egyptian armed forces continued their operations against terrorist groups in northern Sinai, in order to prevent the creation of a safe haven for terrorists there. Here is the part of the report on the efforts of President Al-Sisi and the Armed Forces: Overview: In 2016, the Egyptian government continued to confront active terrorist groups that conducted deadly attacks on government, military, and civilian targets throughout the country. While the overall number of attacks against civilian targets declined through the middle of the year, several high-profile attacks at the end of the year indicate the threat level remains high. Two ISIS affiliates, ISIL-Sinai Province (ISIL-SP) and a distinct group calling itself Islamic State Egypt (IS Egypt), continued to pose a threat. Egypt also faced anti-regime violence from groups, including Liwa al-Thawra and the Harakat Sawa'd Misr (HASM) organization; both have claimed responsibility for attacks in Egypt. The Revolutionary Punishment and Popular Resistance organizations were less active than they had been in the past. While ISIS affiliated groups likely received some external support and direction, there is no evidence of a significant presence of foreign terrorist fighters in Egypt. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi remained focused on counterterrorism efforts in Egypt. The Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) continued the counterterrorism campaign against ISIL-SP in North Sinai (known as Operation "Right of the Martyr") to defeat the terrorist threat and prevent the establishment of a terrorist safe haven. The Egyptian government claimed to have killed thousands of terrorists. Rights groups and international media reported allegations that the armed forces used indiscriminate force during military operations that targeted widespread terrorist activity in the northern Sinai Peninsula, resulting in killings of civilians and destruction of property. The government did not report any civilian casualties during operations in the Sinai. (There is no independent confirmation of these allegations as northern Sinai remains closed to U.S. officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the press.) Further, the EAF sustained efforts to seize and destroy tunnels used for smuggling on the border between Egypt and Gaza but at a slower rate compared to last year due to the establishment of a border buffer zone, which significantly reduced tunnel activity in this area. On August 4, ISIL-SP leader Mohamed Fereij Zeyada (aka Abu Doaa Al-Ansary) was killed in an operation south of Sheikh Zoweid. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to be the largest threat facing Egyptian security forces in North Sinai. To circumvent EAF telecommunication jamming, militants developed IEDs that detonate using pressure plates and wire triggers. Egypt is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and its Counter-ISIS Finance Group.
