[Hamas has trained Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis]
Cairo (AFP) - An Egyptian jihadist group released a video Sunday showing the execution of four men, including three being beheaded, accused of spying for the army and for Israel's Mossad intelligence service.
It is the second time such
gruesome footage has been released by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of
Jerusalem), the deadliest militant group based in Egypt's
insurgency-hit Sinai region.
A
similar video of beheadings was released by the group on August 28,
showing the decapitation of four men also accused of being "Israeli
informants".
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis says it
supports the Islamic State (IS) group which has seized swathes of
territory in Iraq and Syria, but has not pledged formal allegiance to
it.
Sunday's video, released
on Twitter, features parts of a September speech by IS spokesman Abu
Mohamed al-Adnani directed at Sinai jihadists, urging them to kill
Egyptian security personnel.
The footage then shows the execution of four men after their recorded "confessions".
One
was shot dead after saying he worked with the Egyptian army, while the
other three were beheaded after saying they worked for Mossad.
Before being killed, the men
called on other "spies" to repent publicly, saying the militants knew
who they were and that they would not be spared.
The footage also shows jihadists manning checkpoints and searching for "spies".
Egypt's
Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel has seen fighting between militants
and security forces after the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed
Morsi in July last year.
Militants
have killed scores of security personnel, saying the attacks are in
retaliation for a brutal government crackdown since Morsi 's ouster.
The
authorities have launched a sweeping crackdown on his supporters which
has left at least 1,400 people dead and more than 15,000 jailed.
More on the topic:
CAIRO:
An Egyptian jihadist group Thursday released a video in which it
claimed responsibility for beheading four men accused of being “Israeli
informants” before showing the victims’ decapitated bodies.
In the video, militants belonging to Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, considered the deadliest jihadist group in Egypt, say they killed the men in the restive Sinai Peninsula for assisting neighboring Israel.
Their bodies were found in Sheikh Zuweid town Aug. 20, two days after they were abducted, security officials said.
The footage shows the kidnapped men confessing to assisting Israel in a drone strike in July that killed three militants near the border with the Jewish state. At the time, Egypt’s military said it had killed the extremists.
After the confession, a masked man reads a statement that threatens Israel and its “collaborators.”
He begins to cut the victims’ necks before they are then shown dead, with their disembodied heads placed on their backs.
The group is believed to have carried out its first beheading in 2012 – kidnapping and murdering a man they accused of assassinating a militant.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis – “Partisans of Jerusalem” in English – has claimed a number of high-profile attacks in Sinai, the Nile Delta, and Cairo since Islamist President Mohammad Morsi was overthrown in July 2013.
Egypt’s military has carried out a vast offensive against jihadist groups in the north of Sinai since militants stepped up attacks following Morsi’s ouster.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has said its operations are in retaliation for the brutal government crackdown on Morsi’s supporters that left more than 1,400 dead and at least 15,000 imprisoned.
It has also claimed several rocket attacks against Israel over the past two years.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on August 29, 2014, on page 10.
In the video, militants belonging to Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, considered the deadliest jihadist group in Egypt, say they killed the men in the restive Sinai Peninsula for assisting neighboring Israel.
Their bodies were found in Sheikh Zuweid town Aug. 20, two days after they were abducted, security officials said.
The footage shows the kidnapped men confessing to assisting Israel in a drone strike in July that killed three militants near the border with the Jewish state. At the time, Egypt’s military said it had killed the extremists.
After the confession, a masked man reads a statement that threatens Israel and its “collaborators.”
He begins to cut the victims’ necks before they are then shown dead, with their disembodied heads placed on their backs.
The group is believed to have carried out its first beheading in 2012 – kidnapping and murdering a man they accused of assassinating a militant.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis – “Partisans of Jerusalem” in English – has claimed a number of high-profile attacks in Sinai, the Nile Delta, and Cairo since Islamist President Mohammad Morsi was overthrown in July 2013.
Egypt’s military has carried out a vast offensive against jihadist groups in the north of Sinai since militants stepped up attacks following Morsi’s ouster.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has said its operations are in retaliation for the brutal government crackdown on Morsi’s supporters that left more than 1,400 dead and at least 15,000 imprisoned.
It has also claimed several rocket attacks against Israel over the past two years.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on August 29, 2014, on page 10.
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