Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM; ), or Ansar Al-Quds (), was a jihadist, extremist militant group based in Egypt. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis was linked to al-Qaeda from 2011 to 2014. It operated in the Sinai Peninsula, focused its efforts on Egypt and the gas pipeline to Jordan, with a handful attacks directed at Israel. In mid-2013, it began a campaign of attacks on Egyptian security forces, and in November 2014 the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Most of the group became a branch of ISIL, renaming itself  ISIL-Sinai Province. Overview. ABM emerged from a number of indigenous Salafi jihadist groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Some of these groups had ties to Salafi jihadis in Gaza or leaders that had previously fought abroad, including with al-Qaeda. ABM rose from the chaos in Sinai that began with the uprising in January 2011. Its operations increased in the wake of the 2013 Egyptian "coup d'état", shifting its main target from Israel to Egyptian security forces, declaring the Egyptian army and police apostates that can be killed. ABM was believed to have been the main group behind militant activity  in the Sinai. From September 2013 to late January 2014, ABM claimed responsibility for a rapid succession of mass scale attacks throughout Egypt, including the attempted assassination of the Egyptian interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim. ABM recruited Bedouins as well as other Egyptians and people of other nationalities. Ten leaders from the group were reported to have escaped from the Sinai to Gaza and Marsa Matrouh in late 2013. During 2014, ABM sent emissaries to ISIL in Syria to seek financial support, weapons and tactical advice. On 10 November 2014, many members of ABM took an oath of allegiance to Abu  Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIL. Following this pledge, ISIL supporters within ABM formed an official branch of ISIL in the region, known as Wilayat Sinai, the Sinai Province of the Islamic State (or ISIL-SP). Designation as a terrorist organization. ABM or ISIL-SP was designated a terrorist organization by Egypt, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Attacks. Attacks claimed by or attributed to ABM include: After November 2014, attacks by the group were claimed as those of ISIL-SP. References. Global Terrorism Database: List over Ansar Bait al-Maqdis attacks: http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?page=1&casualties_type=&casualties_max=&perpetrator=40074&count=100&charttype=line&chart=overtime&expanded=no&ob=GTDID&od=asc#results-table Ansar Bait al