![Egyptian women weep at a July 8th funeral north of Cairo for soldiers killed a day earlier in an 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' attack in Sinai. ISIS on Wednesday (September 20th) announced it had killed four Sinai tribesmen for collaborating with the Egyptian army. [Mahmoud Bakkar/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2017/09/21/9712-Egypt-sinai-unrest-700_496.webp)
"Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) affiliate Wilayat Sinai on Wednesday (September 20th) announced it had killed four tribesmen it kidnapped weeks ago in Qabr Amir, near Rafah in northern Sinai.
In a statement issued by its propaganda arm, Amaq, ISIS confirmed it had killed the four tribesmen, accusing them of collaborating with the Egyptian army.
Two of the victims are members of al-Fawakhriya tribe, one of Sinai’s largest.
According to the ISIS statement, the victims had provided the army with information on the whereabouts of the group's hideouts.
The incident comes at a time when ISIS has been setting fire to the vehicles of residents and tribesmen who co-operate with the Egyptian army.
With the help and co-operation of local tribesmen, the army has succeeded in cutting ISIS supply routes and killing many of its elements.
"ISIS is trying to intimidate civilians in Sinai because of the siege and crackdown by the army," said military expert Maj. Gen. Abdul Moneim Saeed.
"The group is trying to prolong its war with the army, which has managed to contain it and cut its arms smuggling routes through the western border," he told Al-Mashareq.
Tribal co-operation with army
"The co-operation of Sinai tribes with the army has enabled it to further secure the eastern and sea borders, and also has helped it raid the group’s hideouts and kill many of its elements," Saeed said.
The conflict between ISIS and Sinai tribes has intensified following the successive losses the group has suffered as a result of the tribesmen’s co-operation with the army, he added.
"The tribes even carried weapons and started to fight ISIS," he said.
The conflict began when Wilayat Sinai killed Abdul Basset Ghoneim al-Astal, an al-Tarabeen tribal chief, in April 2015, and the tribe staged a forceful retaliation.
"ISIS is now announcing its operations against the tribes in an attempt to show unreal control over some areas in Sinai and its ability to carry out operations," he added.
"ISIS controls no land in Sinai, and its elements live in the mountains," he said.
Saeed said he expected rifts to emerge within Wilayat Sinai in the coming period due to dissatisfaction and ideological differences among its elements.
