Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has quietly established a presence in Egypt’s turbulent Sinai Peninsula.

Security sources said ISIL has sent scores of operatives to Sinai to bolster the Islamic revolt in the peninsula. They said ISIL was helping Ansar Beit Maqdis, deemed the largest Islamic rebel militia in Egypt.

“ISIL has detected an opening in Sinai as the existing terrorist network is being eroded by persistent Egyptian military operations,” a source said.

On Sept. 9, the Egyptian Army raided a suspected Ansar stronghold near Sheik Zweid and two people were killed. Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency said 25 suspects were also arrested.

The sources said ISIL brought cash and weapons to sustain the revolt in Sinai. They said ISIL also sent trainers to improve Ansar attacks on Egyptian military and security forces.

Over the last 18 months, Ansar’s presence in Sinai was said to have dropped from more than 3,000 to about 500 fighters. The sources said Ansar also lost thousands of Bedouin supporters, who provided weapons, intelligence and logistics.

Ansar has acknowledged the ISIL help. But a senior Ansar commander said ISIL has limited support to guidance over the Internet.

“They teach us how to carry out operations,” an unidentified Ansar commander told the Reuters News Agency said. “They don’t give us weapons or fighters. But they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells.”

Already, Ansar has adopted ISIL methods. In August, Ansar claimed responsibility for beheading suspected collaborators with Egypt and Israel around the Sinai border town of Rafah.

The sources said ISIL has also coordinated with suppliers in Libya to help Ansar. They said ISIL helped in Ansar’s effort to deploy throughout the African mainland, including areas near the border with Libya and Sudan.

ISIL’s help came amid a sustained counter-insurgency campaign meant to halt Ansar operations in the corridor between Rafah and El Arish in northeastern Sinai. The campaign was said to have reduced support by Rafah residents for Ansar attacks and weapons smuggling.

“If you are not with us, do not be with our enemies,” Ansar said in a leaflet distributed throughout Rafah and Sheik Zweid in early September.

  Bedouins, El Arish, ISIL delivers cash, ISIL sends online trainers to Sinai as Egyptian Army beats down Ansar network, Sheik Zweid