Thursday, December 15, 2016

And Daesh claims responsibility of Cairo church bombing

The group claimed in a statement released Tuesday evening online first reportedly on its affiliated Telegram channels that a suicide bomber with a code name of “Abu Abdullah El-Masry” blew up himself inside St.Peter and St.Paul Cathedral in Cairo using an explosive belt.

The statement 
Daesh News agency Amaq then released a breaking news quoting a security source "inside the militant group" that one of its members blew up himself in the church. Surreal times for real when a terrorist group media outlet quotes a "security source" inside it !! 

During the official statement funeral on Monday, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced that 22-years old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohamed was the suicide bomber. 

He also added that four other people including a woman were arrested by security forces for their involvement in the attack.

Monday evening, the Egyptian ministry of interior released a detailed statement about the suspects arrested prior accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of standing behind the attack.

The official statement also spoke about Mahmoud Shafiq and his role hinting out that his code name was “Abu Dagana El-Kinany”. 

Now people are wondering if "Abu Dagana El-Kinany" was "Abu Abdullah El-Masry" or what. 

Despite the statement declares it clearly that Daesh behind the bombing and not the Muslim Brotherhood, the official and mainstream media in Egypt is happy that the ministry of interior was right when it said it was a suicide bombing. 

Yes, because ironically people had a lot of doubts online and offline in the first 48 hours especially with the contradicting statements of the survivors and eye-witnesses as well forensics and security officials. 

Then came El-Sisi's announcement followed by the interior ministry's statement and many people were just amazed on how quickly the police investigations reached to the identities of the suspects. We are being told that it only took 7 hours to get the DNA of the suspected suicide bombers. 

Following that we had the statements of the alleged/suspected suicide bomber's family insisting he "Mahmoud Shafik" in Sudan and he did not do it demanding to see "that body". 

Now we got Daesh admitting that it was the one behind it and this is a new scary reality or.. not even new. 

Yes, not a new reality because Daesh has been in the Nile Valley for awhile but people are either not paying attention or have forgotten. 
This is not the first Daesh operation or a group affiliated with Daesh operation in Cairo or in Nile Valley. 

In 2014 and 2015, the Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for several big operations including the bombing of Sharkia and Cairo security directorates. 

In July 2015, the Italian consulate in Cairo was bombed if you remembered and a Daesh affiliated group called " Egypt province" or "Egypt state" claimed responsibility officially. People forgot this. 

Interestingly, the statement did not mention which affiliated group was responsible for the attack, unlike other previous statements where Daesh Sinai-based affiliated group "Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis" claimed responsibility for its endless attacks. This raised questions. 

Update: The Sinai-based militant group released a photo of the alleged suicide bomber masked using his code name only. 
The alleged suicide bomber 
Some say that the eyes of the alleged suicide bomber are identical to Mahmoud Shafik's mugshot released by the ministry of interior. 

Suspected suicide bomber Mahmoud  Shafik
Suspected suicide bomber Mahmoud
Shafik was previously arrested in 2014 by security forces in Fayoum during a Pro-MB protest and was accused along with another young man of carrying weapons including a hand grenade. 

He was released later after he was proved to be innocent of the charges. His lawyer stated online that he said that he was subjected to torture during his arrest. 

After his release in 2015, he tried to resume his life and studies but then he vanished. His family says that he went to live and work in Sudan "allegedly still alive". 

Security sources say that he headed to North Sinai. 
His father is a former army officer. Both his father and brother are currently detained as I have read. 

Back to Daesh. 

Some say that this operation is a shift in targets for Daesh. groups that used to target mainly police and army but also those people forgot that Daesh's branch in North Sinai is making the lives of Egyptian Christians like hell.  
Also, we should not forget the Egyptian Christian workers who were slaughtered by Daesh in Libya in 2015.

Unlike most people, I do not consider North Sinai an alien part outside Egypt or what happened in Libya as something not related to Egypt.

Egyptian Christians are on the target list of Daesh from a long time but some like to bury their heads in the sand and consider what happened "terrorist's frustration and jealousy of our success".

You must know that according to several released detainees and prisoners, Daesh support among young prisoners is spreading unfortunately in prisons. Daesh inmates and Muslim Brotherhood inmates are said to have ugly nasty fights till death over control and ideological differences. 

Yes, we have to be afraid because the current Egyptian administration will fight terrorism just like in the 1980s and 1990s using the same old methods that did not actually succeed in ending radicalism or terrorism because if the old methods did work, why we would see new terrorist organizations and terrorists in our country !?

I am tired of repeating what has been said before thousands time, of stating the obvious.
One can only pray now in those dark days for better future. 


  1. This bombing has the finger prints/ DNA of intelligence operation in every second of it..

    The Statement of Interior Ministry includes some details that can't be known except from the perpetrator himself (now dead) or through subjecting him to surveillance (training in Zeiton). If they collected fragments of a body, and a face that doesn't resemble clearly the one they had in huge database, how can they define which 'brother' in 90 million Egyptians to go to for DNA sample!!

    Furthermore, reaching a definite conclusion in a day is totally in contradiction with a high profile case of Regeni. The ministry of interior is either knowing everything in one day or knowing nothing in almost a year. These unreasonable responses in both cases are highly suspicious and incriminating.

    The statement of Amaq is not directly accessible in the internet. The statement is linked to SITE Intelligence Group, which is led by an Israeli analyst.

  2. "Daesh inmates and Muslim Brotherhood inmates are said to have ugly nasty fights till death over control and ideological differences."

    Those fights are begging for a YouTube channel of their own. There is money to be made.


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