Militant Hideouts in the Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula has been a haven for militants and illicit activity since Egypt lost the territory to Israel for more than a decade after the Six-Day War in 1967. The geographic location of the peninsula makes it more useful as a logistical hub for smuggling weapons and supplies than as a staging platform for attacks. Still, with the Egyptian military distracted by unrest in Cairo and other urban population centers, the vast, lightly populated and insecure desert region has seen an uptick in jihadist and militant attacks in recent years. Both Egypt and Israel, which shares a long land border with Sinai, have an interest in suppressing militancy in the area, but geographic and political constraints limit their ability to do so.