Third ISIS attack in 2022 in the vicinity of the Suez Canal - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

On December 30, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked an Egyptian police checkpoint in the city of Ismailia in Egypt. Three policemen and a civilian were killed and 11 policemen were wounded. One of the attackers was killed, one was captured, and another may have managed to escape. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is the third ISIS attack in the past year in the Suez Canal area and the first in three years on the western side of the canal (outside the Sinai Peninsula).^[1]
The incidents during the past year near the Suez Canal testify to the effort that ISIS is making to expand its activity in Egypt to new areas, including the western side of the canal, to continue trying to develop its operational capabilities, and gain achievements. It should be noted that the Egyptian security forces are still encountering difficulties in dealing with the organization. This, despite the fact that they acted against it in the last year, caused it losses and even managed to push it out of some of its areas of activity in the Sinai Peninsula.
It should be noted that the Suez Canal is a strategic region representing an international traffic artery of importance for world trade in general and for the Egyptian economy in particular. The expansion of ISIS’s activity to this region may cause damage to the Egyptian economy and also to international trade.

On the evening of December 30, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked an Egyptian police checkpoint near the Al-Saleheen Mosque, in the Al-Salam neighborhood in the north of the city of Ismailia, which is situated on the western side of the Suez Canal, about 100 km northeast of the capital Cairo. According to security sources, two vehicles, one of which was an ATV, approached the checkpoint. Near the checkpoint, two or three armed men got out of the vehicle and opened fire at the policemen manning the checkpoint. Four people were killed: two policemen, a police officer, and an Egyptian citizen, and 11 other policemen were wounded, including an officer (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, January 1, 2023; Al-Jazeera, December 31, 2022; Sinaa Mubasher Facebook page, December 31, 2022). According to a report based on a “security source”, one of the attackers was killed and two attackers took over police vehicles and drove away. After a chase conducted by the security forces which included an exchange of fire, one of the vehicles was found in an agricultural area in the village of Al-Manaif in the Al-Qassassin district, about 5 km southwest of Ismailia (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, January 1, 2023; Mada Misr, January 1 2023). Also, it was reported that one attacker was caught, apparently one of the two attackers who were reported to have escaped (Sinaa Mubasher Facebook page, December 31, 2022).

Part of the incident was recorded in a video taken by a security camera at the scene. In the video, Egyptian security personnel are seen shooting and then charging towards a road where several cars are driving (Mohammed Twitter account, December 30, 2022; Ma’ali al-Muwatin Twitter account, December 31, 2022).

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. According to its announcement, the organization’s operatives attacked the police checkpoint with machine guns. At least three policemen were killed and 12 were wounded, including an officer (Telegram, December 31, 2022).

Shortly after the incident, the roads in the area were reopened for vehicle and civilian traffic, but searches continued and facilities in the area were secured. It was also reported that the alert level in Egypt was raised for fear of further attacks by terrorist elements (Sinaa Mubasher Facebook page, December 31, 2022; Sada al-Balad, December 31, 2022).
Despite the counterterrorism measures taken by the Egyptian security forces, which succeeded in pushing ISIS out of its areas of activity near the Suez Canal, the organization managed to operate for the first time since 2019 on the western side of the canal. ISIS continues to try and strengthen its grip on the region and its abilities to transfer weapons and operatives in the vicinity of the Suez Canal. Presumably, it also tries to recruit operatives inside Egypt (i.e., outside the Sinai Peninsula), and it seems that despite the Egyptian activity, it manages to preserve and perhaps even expand its operational capabilities in the region.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned the attack, expressed support for Egypt and stated that they stand by it in the fight against terrorism (Al-Arabiya.net, January 1, 2023).

^[1] For further details on the previous incidents, see the ITIC's Information Bulletin from November 24, 2022, “Incident between Egyptian army forces and ISIS in the Suez Canal region” and the Information Bulletin from May 17, 2022, “ISIS attacks a strategic facility in Sinai – Significance and possible implications” ↑

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