In July 2013, in the wake of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, a representative of a group of Salafist jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula announced the formation of a group called "Ansar al-Sharia in Egypt". At the time of this announcement, it was unclear what, if any connection there is with Ashoush's group. In the following weeks, all of the key members of Ansar al-Sharia were either arrested, joined the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis faction in the Sinai insurgency, or fled to Syria to take part in the Civil War.