Egyptian Islamic Jihad
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The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), also called the Islamic Jihad and the Jihad Group, is an Egyptian Islamic group active since the late 1970s with origins in the Muslim Brotherhood. It suffered setbacks as a result of numerous arrests of operatives worldwide, most recently in Lebanon and Yemen. The organization's primary goals are to overthrow the Egyptian Government and replace it with an Islamic state and to attack United States and Israeli interests in Egypt and abroad.
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Activities
The organization specializes in armed attacks against high-level Egyptian Government personnel, including cabinet ministers, and car-bombings against official US and Egyptian facilities. The original Jihad was responsible for the assassination in 1981 of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. It also claimed responsibility for the attempted assassinations of Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi in August 1993 and Prime Minister Atef Sedky in November 1993. Egyptian Jihad and rival armed group Gama'at Islamiya launched a wave of violence against Egypt's secular government in 1992, a campaign they only abandoned at the end of the decade. Nearly 1300 people died in the unrest, including policemen, and government officials, foreign tourists and Egyptian Christians. It is responsible for the Egyptian Embassy bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1995; in 1998, a planned attack against the US Embassy in Albania was thwarted.
Leadership
Al-Sharif passed the Jihad leadership to Ayman al-Zawahri the lieutenant of al-Qaida's leader Osama bin Laden, amid dissent within the movement in 1991
Location/Area of Operation
The Egyptian Islamic Jihad operates in the Cairo area. It has a network outside Egypt, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom.
External Aid
The extent of its aid from outside of Egypt is not known. The Egyptian Government claims that both Iran and Osama bin Laden support the Jihad. It also may obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations, cover businesses, and criminal acts.