Islamic State Hits Egyptian Naval Ship with Missile

On July 16, the Islamic State affiliate in Egypt, Wilayat Sinai (Sinai Province), fired a rocket or guided missile at an Egyptian naval vessel, causing the ship to catch on fire. The group, formerly known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. It boasted that it had destroyed the boat, which was located in the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of Israel and Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir, a spokesman for the Egyptian military, said that the vessel caught fire after a firefight with “terrorists.” The shots came from near Rafah, a town in North Sinai on the border of Egypt and Gaza, and a Gazan fisherman identified the ship as a gunboat approximately one nautical mile offshore. Samir gave no indication as to how much damage the ship sustained but stated that no members of the crew were killed. Other security officials said that crew members were injured, and a number of men jumped overboard to escape the fire.

The attacks conducted by the Islamic State affiliate are typically shootings or bombings and its July 16 attack marked the first time the group has staged a rocket or missile attack on the navy. According to its Twitter statement, the Wilayat Sinai used a guided missile to hit the ship. Some military experts have noted that photos of the attack suggest it may be a Russian-made Kornet Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), which is an anti-tank weapon which has seen use by Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria. In November, 2014, Sinai-based jihadists believed to belong to Wilayat Sinai targeted an Egyptian naval vessel North of the port of Damietta, launching an assault from multiple fishing boats and killing several Egyptian sailors.

Wilayat Sinai has been targeting the Egyptian military since the 2013 military coup that removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

The July 16 attack came one day after the Egyptian military said it killed a militant trying to drive a car laden with 1,100 pounds of explosives into a military checkpoint on a highway linking Cairo to the Red Sea. Wilayat Sinai took responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The group said that a suicide bomber killed himself and a number of soldiers, a claim which the military denies. On July 11, it bombed the Italian Consulate in Cairo.

Wilayat Sinai’s use of rockets in attacks is not brand new: less than two weeks ago, it fired three rockets into Israel. However, if its claims that it used a guided missile to attack the ship prove true, it could present an even bigger threat to Egypt and Israel than it already does. Guided missiles can be used to attack targets from a distance, and they can be used to destroy tanks. Questions must be raised as to how the group acquired such weaponry, as it could have either gotten them from Islamic State proper or from Hamas, with whom it is reportedly collaborating. Regardless of where it obtained the missiles, its possession of them poses a threat to Egypt and Israel. Both of these countries are US allies, and the US must back up Egyptian efforts to crush this dangerous insurgency.