Video shows Egypt tribesmen burn IS militant alive

An Islamic State group militant was burned alive by the Egyptian al-Tarabin tribe in the country's tense Sinai region, reports said on Friday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

29 April, 2017

Tensions between the Egyptian tribe and militant group has increased recently [YouTube Screenshot]

An Egyptian tribe allegedly burned alive an Islamic State [IS] group militant in the country's tense Sinai region, a video shows.

The al-Tarabin tribesmen burned and killed an important IS leader who had previously killed and burned three citizens and a police officer, according to an al-Arabiya report.

In a video shared on YouTube, several men are seen surrounding the alleged IS militant as he attempts to extinguish the flames by rolling on the ground.

"It is time to get together to face ISIS, which did not have mercy on the elderly or young, and filled the earth with corruption and destruction," a statement published by the tribe said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

"To anyone who supports ISIS by word, action or by monitoring, he has to surrender himself immediately," the statement warned.

Earlier this month, a tribal elder in Sinai told The New Arab armed clashes erupted between IS-affiliated jihadists and tribal militants after the extremists kidnapped a member of the al-Tarabin tribe - one of the largest in Sinai.

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials gave AP a different account, saying militants from IS launched RPG attacks in response to the kidnapping of three of its members by local tribes.

The official sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media. The tribal sources requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Several large tribes inhabit Sinai, including al-Aramilat, al-Sawarka and others, as well as the al-Tarabin clan.

Since the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 military coup, led by then defence minister and current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, North Sinai has been caught in the crossfire between the army and local armed militants.

The majority of the Islamist militant attacks, in which hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed, were carried out by Wilayat Sinai, which has officially pledged allegiance to IS. A state of emergency has since been declared in some parts of North Sinai.

The group has been accused of carrying out recent targeted attacked against Coptic Christians in North Sinai after seven were killed by militants in February.