COLUMNS

Why Egypt's Terrorists May Choose to Go It Alone

undefined and Global Security Analyst
Thomas Abi-Hanna
Global Security Analyst, Stratfor

Feb 26, 2019 | 09:30 GMT

Policemen carry wreaths in Cairo on Feb. 19, 2019, at the funeral of Mahmud Abu el-Yzied, one of three policemen killed in a bombing the previous day.

Policemen carry wreaths in Cairo on Feb. 19, 2019, at the funeral of Mahmud Abu el-Yzied, one of three policemen killed in a bombing the previous day. Recent bombings suggest Egypt now faces a many-headed grassroots threat.

(AHMED HASAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • No one has claimed responsibility for a recent series of attacks in the Cairo area despite the existence of multiple groups eager to strike at the Egyptian state.
  • The recent attacks indicate the emergence of a grassroots terrorist threat in Egypt.
  • Egypt's major jihadist groups have been under pressure from government forces over the past year, undermining their ability to organize and conduct attacks.

After a relatively quiet 2018 in terms of terrorist attacks, Cairo and the adjacent tourist destination of Giza have experienced a series of bombings in the past two months. On Dec. 28, 2018, a roadside improvised explosive device exploded next to a tourist bus near the Pyramids in Giza, killing three tourists and an Egyptian tour guide and injuring 11 other people. On Feb. 15, police discovered three explosive devices, also in Giza. One of them detonated, injuring two police officers and three civilians. Then on Feb. 18, a suspected bombmaker detonated a suicide device while reportedly conducting pre-operational surveillance near central Cairo's Khan el-Khalili market, killing himself and two police officers and wounding three bystanders. This recent spate of unclaimed bombings strongly suggests Egypt now faces a more multifaceted, yet less potent, grassroots threat in addition to the threat posed by militant groups....

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