(Times of Israel) The commander of Islamic State forces in Sinai, Shadi al-Menei, is currently on a secret visit to Gaza, meeting with Hamas leaders to widen cooperation and coordinate attacks on Egyptian and Israeli targets, Israel Channel 2 TV reported Thursday. Hamas has smuggled weaponry from Gaza to Sinai, including Cornet anti-tank missiles, which have caused heavy losses to Egypt. Al-Menei is responsible for occasional rocket fire from Sinai at the Israeli southern resort town of Eilat. He was also behind a 2011 terrorist attack in southern Israel which targeted a bus and several Israeli army vehicles, killing six Israeli civilians, two Israeli soldiers and several Egyptian soldiers. The close interaction between Hamas and IS in Sinai is "one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the Hamas military wing in recent months," the Times of Israel's Avi Issacharoff reported in July.
2015-12-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive