The insurgency initially consisted of militants, largely composed of local Bedouin tribesmen, who exploited the chaotic situation in Egypt and weakened central authority to launch a series of attacks on government forces in Sinai. In 2014, elements of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) and proclaimed themselves Sinai Province, with some security officials stating that militants based in Libya established ties with the Sinai Province group[42] and blaming the porous border and ongoing civil war for the increase in sophisticated weapons available to the Islamist groups.[43]
Egyptian authorities attempted to restore their presence in the Sinai through both political and military measures.[44] The country launched two military operations, known as Operation Eagle in mid-2011 and Operation Sinai in mid-2012. In May 2013, following an abduction of Egyptian officers, violence in the Sinai surged once again. Following the overthrow in July 2013 of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, "unprecedented clashes" occurred.[45]
The fallout suffered by locals as a result of the insurgency ranges from militant operations and a state of insecurity to extensive military operations and the demolishing of hundreds of homes, leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents as Egyptian troops pressed on to build a buffer zone meant to halt the smuggling of weapons and militants from and to the Gaza Strip. A report, compiled by a delegation from the state-funded National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), stated that most of the displaced families share the same grievances of palpable government negligence, unavailability of nearby schools, and a lack of health services.[46] Since the start of the conflict, dozens of civilians were killed, either in military operations or kidnapped and then beheaded by militants. In November 2017, more than 300 Sufist worshippers were killed and over 100 injured in a terrorist attack on a mosque west of the city of Al-Arish.[40]
^Kirkpatrick, David (3 February 2018). "Secret Alliance". The New York Times. For more than two years, unmarked Israeli drones, helicopters and jets have carried out a covert air campaign, conducting more than 100 airstrikes inside Egypt, frequently more than once a week — and all with the approval of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi...Mr. Sisi's spokesman, Col. Ahmed Ali, denied it.
^Adam Entous (11 June 2018). "Donald Trump's New World Order". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018. Recently, cooperation among Israel and the Gulf states has expanded into the Sinai Peninsula, where M.B.Z. has deployed Emirati forces to train and assist Egyptian troops who have been fighting militants with help from Israeli military aircraft and intelligence agencies. U.A.E. forces have, on occasion, conducted counterterrorism missions in Sinai.