Sinai Islamists vow revenge for IAF Gaza strikes

After air force strikes kill 5 terrorists over weekend, including leader of al-Qaida-inspired group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes vows to respond.

Funeral for Gaza terrorist killed by IDF (photo credit: reuters)
Funeral for Gaza terrorist killed by IDF
(photo credit: reuters)
CAIRO - An Islamist group in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel said on Tuesday it will take revenge against the Jewish state for the killing of Palestinian terrorists in Gaza over the weekend.
"We, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes group tell the Jews that the blood of our brothers in Palestine is ours and their revenge is ours... So wait for our painful reply and revenge," the group said in a statement posted on Islamist websites.
An IAF airstrike killed two Palestinian terrorists, including the leader of an al-Qaida-affiliated group in the Gaza Strip, on Saturday. Three other terrorists were killed on Sunday.
The Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes (Supporters Of Jerusalem) group had claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israel from Sinai.
Islamist terrorists have stepped up attacks on security forces in Sinai and the Israeli border since the ouster last year of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who had worked closely with Israel to secure the border region.
Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsi, has vowed to restore order, but efforts to impose central authority in the desert region are complicated by the indigenous Beduin population's ingrained hostility to the government in Cairo.