The tempo and sophistication of the terrorist operations in Egypt points that something is going on.
Egypt has a special place in the Middle East.
It is one of the heaviest populated with over 80 million people, mostly poor. It is practically in the brink of bankruptcy surviving from loan from the Saudi Kingdom and associates.
The Saudis are helping Egypt as they are terrified by the Muslim Brotherhood – a previous Islamist terrorist organization that now is trying the democratic way – a terrifying concept for the kingdom (interestingly enough is considered a terrorist organization in the Arabic Peninsula and not in the US).
The extremist group – not Brotehrhood in Egypt are actually pledging alliance to IS and IS needs some media coup after, at least in the news*, for months has been battered from the Allied war planes.
So by deduction the area of Sinai with the Suez Canal is becoming more under focus. The Suez Canal with its traffic has also economic and oil price consequences. But the Egyptian Army is not without teeth and very ruthless and it has very strange and powerful allies (Israel and Saudis in this bit, collaborate).
* Yes it has been battered and suffered heavy casualties, but it is very little to be found the amount of new recruits from all over the world they are getting. So it is difficult to estimate. The New York Times in September estimated 1,000 persons joined from Turkey alone. UN estimates of inflows during 2014 to Iraq/Syria (not divided per terrorist group), as of 30 September, were 15,000
investorpolitico 