[20141218]IN10199_埃及伊斯兰国：对美国和埃及关系的影响.pdf

CRS InsightsThe Islamic State in Egypt: Implications for U.S.-Egyptian RelationsJeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs (jsharpcrs.loc.gov, 7-8687)December 18, 2014 (IN10199)In early November 2014, the Sinai Peninsula-based terrorist group formally known as Ansar Bayt alMaqdis (Companions or Supporters of Jerusalem) declared its allegiance to the leader of the IslamicState organization (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS), Abu Bakr al Baghdadi,and changed its name to the Sinai Province (Wilayat Sinai) of the Islamic State (IS-SP). For lawmakers,this development raises questions such as how significant is the Islamic State presence in Egypt andwhat is the appropriate U.S. response to its supposed expansion beyond Iraq and Syria? Islamistradicals in the Sinai have been waging an insurgency against the Egyptian military for years, and manyobservers believe that this adoption of a terrorist brand is designed to increase radical recruitment toa group that previously had been unaffiliated with either Al Qaeda or the Islamic State franchises.Islamist militancy in Egypt stretches from the northern half of the Sinai Peninsula to the Western desertborde