ISIS opens an “office” in northern Sinai

Egyptian security forces were taken aback Saturday to find that the Islamist terrorist group, in the middle of a fierce war for control of Sinai, had actually opened an “office” at Sheikh Zuweid in the north. The terrorists were inviting local Egyptian citizens to come forward and “ask for forgiveness” for “collaborating with the Egyptian enemy.” Masked Islamists outside the premises handed out leaflets with photos of Egyptian citizens they had kidnapped as “collaborators.” DEBKAfile’s counterterrorism sources report that the astonished Egyptians hit back by cutting all telephone and internet lines in northern Sinai for most hours of the day and night. This was to disrupt the terrorists’ internal communications – but, most of all, to stop them from using their mobile phones to detonate roadside bombs.