Cover Story Overview
Bay`a Remorse? Wilayat Sinai and the Nile Valley
By Mokhtar Awad and Samuel Tadros
Understanding the complex dynamics that first allowed Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis to grow into a national-level actor in Egypt, the reality of a fragmented and diverse jihadi landscape in the Nile Valley, and the possibility of growing competition in Egypt between the Islamic State and al-Qa`ida helps explain the state of affairs today in both Wilayat Sinai and the overall Egyptian jihadi landscape. This article argues that early assumptions about Wilayat Sinai need to be corrected and that by declaring allegiance to the Islamic State, the jihadi group has complicated its ability to maintain and extend its operations in the Nile Valley and “go national.”
