Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based jihadi group, has claimed responsibility for an attack that rocked South Sinai's security department on Monday.

 

The group said that the blast, which killed one and injured 22 others, came in response to "the crime of killing protesters in Rabaa al-Adaweya, al-Nahda [Square] and Ramses," referring to a series of crackdowns by security forces against supporters of Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

In a statement published on several jihadi websites on Wednesday, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed a suicide bomber passed three checkpoints in the area before detonating the device - and himself - outside the security building. The group claimed to avoid "civil Muslims" during the operation, explaining that an appropriate location was selected for this reason.

 

One person was killed and 22 others wounded in the attack, a security source said Monday.

 

Nabil Naeem, founder of the Jihad Organization, said that Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis is a "misleading group and one of the jihadi Salafi groups in Sinai.” He added that operations targeting security installations, Sinai security departments and military checkpoints should be expected.

 

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis also claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt on Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in Cairo's eastern Nasr City area, not far from Rabaa al-Adaweya, the centre of pro-Morsy protests following the Islamist president's ouster.

 

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm