Al-Jihad
Name(s). Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group, Islamic Jihad, Vanguards of Conquest.
Goals and Objectives. Al-Jihad is committed to the violent overthrow of the Egyptian government, to the establishment of an Islamic regime in Egypt, and to attacking American and Israeli interests in Egypt.
Favorite Tactics. Al-Jihad has engaged in assassinations, bombings, and suicide attacks.

Brief History. Founded in the late 1970s, al-Jihad is a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political organization founded in 1928 by Hasan al Banna seeking a return to the original precepts of the Qu’ran and opposed to the secular rule and Western influence. Known for high profile assassinations and bombings, al-Jihad is responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (Oct. 1981), the death of the People’s Assembly Speaker Rifaat el-Mahgoub (Oct. 1990), and attempts on the lives of Interior Minister Al-Alfi (Aug. 1993), Prime Minister Atef Sedky (Nov. 1993), and President Hosni Mubarak (1995).

In the early 1980s, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ruthlessly cracked down on al-Jihad, forcing a split in the group. One faction, led by the imprisoned Abbud al-Zumar, has called for peaceful negotiation; but his faction has apparently withered.

The other faction, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, became even more violent, and around 1987 moved al-Jihad’s base of operations to Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri has moved further away from the Egyptian cause and has embraced Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda quest to target American interests directly. In 1998 al-Jihad joined, and al- Zawahiri reportedly leads, Al Qaeda’s so-called International Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders. Then, in 2001, al-Jihad apparently merged with Al Qaeda. There have been no attacks inside Egypt attributed to al-Jihad since 1998.

Favorite Tactics. Al-Jihad has engaged in assassinations, bombings, and suicide attacks.

Anti-American Activity. Since the mid-1990s, al-Jihad has been shifting its focus from Egyptian to American targets. Commandos for al-Jihad were linked to a foiled attack on the U.S. Embassy in Albania in August 1998. As part of Al Qaeda, al-Jihad members are believed to have been involved in the bombings of the American Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998. They are also implicated in the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in port at Aden, Yemen, and the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.