(Ynet News) Ronen Bergman - In the past three years, Hamas has been significantly helping Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, which now calls itself Sinai Province after swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, to upgrade its military and operational abilities. While two years ago, its videos mainly documented peasants equipped with small arms (Kalashnikov rifles and grenades), today they document advanced weapons and camouflage. Today, Sinai Province operates Fajr rockets, aerial defense systems, advanced antitank missiles, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, explosives, mortars, advanced communication means, and satellite phones. According to updated estimates, Sinai Province numbers 500-1,000 members, including 100-200 who received combat training in Syria and Iraq from global jihad elements. A few days before the Russian plane crash in Sinai on Oct. 13, which left 224 people dead, Western intelligence agencies saw a significant increase in the volume of written and spoken communication between senior members of Sinai Province and elements affiliated with ISIS' Security and Intelligence Council in Iraq and Syria, the body responsible for ISIS' most important secret activities and special operations. Shortly after the crash, this communication almost completely stopped.
2015-12-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive