Beyond the Sinai: The Islamic State in Cairo

On 12 August, the Sinai-based Islamic State (IS) affiliate, Wilayat Sinai, posted online images purporting to show the beheaded body of Tomislav Salopek, a 31-year-old Croatian national who had been kidnapped from the Cairo area in late July 2015. While kidnappings of foreigners are common in Egypt, the majority in recent years have taken place in the restive Sinai Peninsula, and incidents in Cairo remain rare. As such, Salopek’s kidnapping has prompted concerns that Wilayat Sinai is expanding its presence outside of the Sinai area. However, the details of the kidnapping suggest that the reality may be more complex. 

Salopek was in Egypt working for a French geoscience company when he was seized by unidentified gunmen on the outskirts of Cairo on 22 July. According to statements issued by his employer, the group that initially abducted Salopek contacted the company eight days later and demanded a monetary ransom. However, the company’s subsequent attempts to contact the kidnappers were unsuccessful, and on 5 August, Wilayat Sinai released a video threatening to execute Salopek within 48 hours unless all Muslim women were released from Egyptian prisons. 

If accurate, the French company’s account implies that two different groups were involved in Salopek’s kidnapping, and that at some point between the initial contact and the appearance of the first video, Salopek was transferred into the custody of Wilayat Sinai. As such, the group that first seized Salopek was most likely a Cairo-based criminal or militant organisation with informal ties to Wilayat Sinai. This suggests that Wilayat Sinai has the contacts and resources to indirectly acquire foreign hostages from outside its areas of operation.

However, the nature and extent of the relationship between the two groups remains uncertain. For instance, that the kidnappers initially attempted to demand a ransom from the French company suggests that the selling of Salopek to Wilayat Sinai was opportunistic; the kidnappers may well have felt they were at risk of being caught holding Salopek in Cairo, thereby prompting his transfer to Wilayat Sinai. Correspondingly, this implies that Wilayat Sinai is unlikely to have ordered the kidnapping directly and was instead taking advantage of the kidnappers’ offer. 

Nonetheless, despite this uncertainty, Salopek’s kidnapping constitutes a worrying development. Based on the amount of media interest generated by the kidnapping, Wilayat Sinai now has increased motivation to acquire foreign hostages. In addition, criminal and militant groups in mainland Egypt will also be more aware that selling hostages to Wilayat Sinai may be a viable source of revenue.