Islamic State Militants Destroy Egyptian Vessel In Fresh Rocket Attack, Post Pictures Of The Attack On Twitter
The Egyptian wing of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Thursday claimed that it fired a rocket at an Egyptian naval vessel, destroying it.
According to IOL, the incident happened off the coast of Israel and Gaza Strip. The responsibility for the attack has been claimed by a group which calls itself the Sinai Province of the Islamic State. A brief statement showing photographs of the attack was posted on Twitter from accounts known to be linked to the group, the Daily Star confirmed.
This wing of the Islamic State is focused on attacking Egyptian soldiers and the police force in the Sinai peninsula. They have been behind the cause of several attacks and deaths since the toppling of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi by Egypt’s army in 2013 following public protests against his rule.
Meanwhile, the photographs that surfaced on Twitter showed a rocket fired towards a naval vessel, hitting it and setting it on fire following impact. Officials from the Egyptian military have not corroborated the militant’s version of the events but said that a coast guard vessel had exchanged fire with the militants, causing it to catch fire. The military also said no lives were lost in the incident.
Nevertheless, the brazen attack on the Egyptian vessel shows the increasing boldness of ISIS as it tries to exert its dominance across several areas in the Middle-East. The fact that this attack took place very close to Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the Suez Canal also makes it concerning to security analysts in Israel.
Egypt’s current president, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, has in the past highlighted the threat posed by ISIS-backed insurgency in the most populous Arab Country and has said that the country faces an existential threat from the Islamic State. Sissi had earlier launched a massive crackdown on Islamists across the country. While he did manage to weaken the Muslim Brotherhood movement, he has not been as successful in neutralizing the Sinai-based, Islamic State-backed militants.
It was back in 2014 that the Sinai Province group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which is currently in control of large tracts of land across Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State also has a sizable presence in Egypt’s eastern neighbor Libya.
This attack on the Egyptian vessel comes just two weeks after 100 militants and 17 security forces were killed in coordinated attacks launched by the Islamic State in Egypt. It also took place on the day of the Chattanooga Shootings in the United States that left several people, including the attacker himself, dead.
[Image Via The Daily Star]
