How Egyptian Military Destroyed ISIS

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Over the past decade the Egyptian military has waged a major land battle against ISIS on their own territory. When Operation Eagle first kicked in August 2011 the Egyptian military deployed 2,500 troops, armored vehicles, special forces brigades, main battle tanks and attack helicopters on their own territory inside the Sinai Peninsula, largely on the sensitive border with Israel.

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Written by: Chris Cappy and Diego Aceituno

Edited by: Syed

Since then the battle has extended in one form or another all the way to 2023 when it was declared over by the Egyptian government. The mission's goal was to crush ISIS militants and insurgency that had spiraled out of control threatening the region's natural resources and vital trade routes. We’ll see how over the course of a decade the Egyptian military's counterinsurgency strategy evolved, from one of brute force to collaboration with local tribes, revealing lessons about the kind of innovative steps it took to defeat a force like ISIS.

The Sinai Peninsula is often called the "Bridge Between Continents” because it connects Africa, Asia and the Middle east. It happens to be located in one of the most strategically important places in the world because it forms the eastern half of the vital Suez Canal, where about 15% of global trade passes through each year. 6.4 million barrels worth of oil transits the canal every day. Essentially a complete blockade of this route would block $9 billion dollars of commerce every day. Historically speaking the Sinai Peninsula has long served as a route for the smuggling of weapons and supplies.

The first step of Egypt’s Operation Eagle was to regain control by setting up checkpoints throughout 3 key locations. The first was Arish, then they went to secure the part of the city of Rafah that is in Egypt. Then they moved into Sheikh Zuwaid. As the Egyptian military forces of Operation Eagle crossed over into the Sinai Peninsula, many residents living there initially thought it was just another crackdown. What followed would be far more intense than that.

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