Incident Summary:
10/20/2017: Assailants, armed with rocket propelled grenades and missiles, opened fire on a police convoy along the Al-Wahat Al-Baharia road in Giza, Egypt. In addition to an unknown number of assailants, at least 16 police officers were killed and 13 others were injured while one officer was reported missing in the attack. Ansar al-Islam (Egypt) claimed responsibility for the incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
201710210035
When:
2017-10-20
Country:
Egypt
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Giza
City:
Unknown
Location Details:
The incident occurred 135 kilometers southwest of Giza, along the Al-Wahat Al-Baharia road.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Police |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Central Security Forces (CSF) |
| Specific Description |
Convoy |
| Nationality of Target |
Egypt |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
1 |
| US Hostages |
0 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
11 |
| Outcome |
Successful Rescue |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
| Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), missiles, and firearms were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
Yes |
| Alternate Designation () |
Lack of Intentionality |
| Additional Information |
There is doubt that this incident meets terrorism-related criteria. Sources noted that the police were on an offensive operation when they were attacked and it is unclear whether or not the assailants lured them into the ambush. Casualty numbers conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the lowest reliable estimates are reported here. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Ansar al-Islam (Egypt) |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: E-mail) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
16 Fatalities / 13 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
16 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Total Number of Injured |
13 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| "Egypt Western Desert attack exposes front outside Sinai," Reuters News, November 7, 2017. |
| "New al Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for major Egypt attack," Reuters News, November 3, 2017. |
| "Egypt disputes reported death toll from desert shoot-out," BBC, October 23, 2017. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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