Sinai based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis announced in a statement on Saturday the death of one of its leaders. Tawfiq Mohamed Fareeg, also known as Abi AbdAllah, died in a pedestrian accident last Tuesday after the explosive device he was carrying exploded, mortally wounding him, according to the statement, which was published on several "jihadist" forums. The deceased militant was one of the founding members of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdes and had participated and led several operations, the group reported. Among other operations, Abi AbdAllah participated in the bombing of the Sinai pipeline, and acted as a field operations officer during "the grand battle of Eilat" that took place during Ramadan in 2013. He supervised the failed assassination operation targeting Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in September of last year. The militant group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks targeting military and police personnel, tourists and strategic buildings. Egyptian security apparatuses connect the militant group to the Muslim Brotherhood, but the Brotherhood has repeatedly denied any link.
