Egyptian militant group pledges allegiance to ISIL

The Ansar Beit Al Maqdis reportedly said in an audio recording that they have pledged their allegiance to ISIL leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

CAIRO // Egypt’s deadliest militant group, Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, has pledged its allegiance to ISIL.

“We announce our pledge of allegiance to the caliph Ibrahim Ibn Awad... to listen and obey,” said the group, referring to ISIL leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, in an audio recording posted on its Twitter account on Monday.

The group has waged a campaign of violence from its Sinai Peninsula stronghold that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the Egyptian army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July last year.

It had previously expressed support for ISIL, but stopped short of pledging its allegiance before Monday, even denying it last week.

ISIL had previously established contacts with Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, though the precise nature of these is unclear, said Egyptian security officials.

In September, ISIL issued a statement urging insurgents in Sinai to push ahead with attacks on the country’s security forces.

Interior ministry spokesman Hany Abdel Latif said the announcement would make no difference to Egypt's fight against the militants.

“They are just different names for the same terrorists,” he said.

Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, which means Partisans of Jerusalem, was formed during the security vacuum that followed the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring revolution of 2011.

The group has conducted cross-border attacks against neighbouring Israel, as well as attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police.

It has said it wants to implement its interpretation of Sharia, and avenge Islamists killed in the crackdown that followed Mr Morsi’s overthrow.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has said Egypt faces an “existential threat” from Sinai-based militants.

Last month, at least 33 security personnel were killed in two successive attacks, prompting Egypt to declare a three-month state of emergency in parts of northern Sinai.

The attacks were a setback for the government, which had managed over the past few months to make some progress in the struggle against insurgents and focus on repairing the economy.

* Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting from Reuters