It appears that it is so easy to get radicalized and then start your own terror group.
Russian plane crash: Secret cells of Egypt's Islamic State suspected
Date
November 6, 2015 - 10:01AM
Michael Georgy
It is "increasingly likely" that 224 Metrojet passengers and crew died as a result of a "terrorist bomb", says British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Western officials are increasingly pointing the finger of blame at the branch known as Sinai Province, which has focused on killing Egyptian soldiers and police since the military toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests.
Debris of a Russian airplane is seen at the site a day after the passenger jet bound for Russia crashed in Egypt. Photo: AP
If solid evidence emerges it attacked the aircraft, that would instantly propel the group to the top of the jihadi ladder, with one of the deadliest attacks since al-Qaeda flew planes into the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
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If a bomb knocked Airbus A321 out of the sky, that would challenge Egypt's assertions that it had brought under control militants who have carried out high-profile attacks on senior government officials and Western targets.
Security experts and investigators have said the plane is unlikely to have been struck from the outside and Sinai militants are not believed to have any missiles capable of striking a jet at 30,000 feet.
A young mourner at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, which has been used as a memorial for the victims of the Metrojet crash. Photo: AP
Sinai Province is partly the product of Egypt's efforts to eliminate militancy, which has threatened the most populous Arab country for decades, according to the intelligence sources.
The three officials, who closely follow the Sinai-based insurgency, say many of its fighters fled to Syria after Mursi was removed and then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi unleashed security forces on Islamists, both moderate and radical.
Sinai Province's leader - a 42-year-old former clothes importer known by his nom de guerre Abu Osama al-Masri - studied at Al-Azhar, a 1000-year old Egyptian centre for Islamic learning that supports the government, said the officials.
Read more
: Russian plane crash: Secret cells of Egypt's Islamic State suspected
Russian plane crash: Secret cells of Egypt's Islamic State suspected
Date
November 6, 2015 - 10:01AM
Michael Georgy
It is "increasingly likely" that 224 Metrojet passengers and crew died as a result of a "terrorist bomb", says British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Western officials are increasingly pointing the finger of blame at the branch known as Sinai Province, which has focused on killing Egyptian soldiers and police since the military toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests.
Debris of a Russian airplane is seen at the site a day after the passenger jet bound for Russia crashed in Egypt. Photo: AP
If solid evidence emerges it attacked the aircraft, that would instantly propel the group to the top of the jihadi ladder, with one of the deadliest attacks since al-Qaeda flew planes into the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
Advertisement
If a bomb knocked Airbus A321 out of the sky, that would challenge Egypt's assertions that it had brought under control militants who have carried out high-profile attacks on senior government officials and Western targets.
Security experts and investigators have said the plane is unlikely to have been struck from the outside and Sinai militants are not believed to have any missiles capable of striking a jet at 30,000 feet.
A young mourner at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, which has been used as a memorial for the victims of the Metrojet crash. Photo: AP
Sinai Province is partly the product of Egypt's efforts to eliminate militancy, which has threatened the most populous Arab country for decades, according to the intelligence sources.
The three officials, who closely follow the Sinai-based insurgency, say many of its fighters fled to Syria after Mursi was removed and then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi unleashed security forces on Islamists, both moderate and radical.
Sinai Province's leader - a 42-year-old former clothes importer known by his nom de guerre Abu Osama al-Masri - studied at Al-Azhar, a 1000-year old Egyptian centre for Islamic learning that supports the government, said the officials.
Read more
: Russian plane crash: Secret cells of Egypt's Islamic State suspected
