SUMMARY
Harakit Sawa’id Misr (Egypt’s Arms Movement, alternatively Hasm/Hasam Movement, Hasm’s Hawks, or “Special Operations Brigade”) was an armed group that emerged in Egypt in 2016. The group claimed to be waging a “jihad” against the Government of Egypt, which it accused of being corrupt and oppressive towards the Egyptian people. Harakit Sawa’id Misr did not – unlike other contemporary Egyptian insurgent groups, such as Islamic State (IS) and Jama’at Ansar al-Islam - have a pronounced extremist religious outlook. The group instead focused on nationalistic appeals, and was suggested to have a more moderate Islamist agenda.
The group emerged at some point during 2016, when it began launching smaller attacks against officials associated with the Egyptian Interior Ministry and the police; the group appeared to deliberately avoid targeting the Egyptian Army and civilians. Harakit Sawa’id Misr had been created as a direct reaction against the rule of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; the group overtly stated that its actions were motivated by the constant use of “state of emergency” declarations by the Government of Egypt, and the arbitrary detentions of Egyptian citizens. Harakit Sawa’id Misr’s targeting of the Interior Ministry was likely motivated by the latter’s instrumental role in enforcing the state of emergency. While the exact origins or the group was not known, the Egyptian government claimed that Harakit Sawa’id Misr was an armed offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. This claim should however be treated with caution, as the Muslim Brotherhood was banned in Egypt at the time, meaning that such claims might only have been an effort to discredit the Brotherhood. Furthermore, neither Harakit Sawa’id Misr nor the Muslim Brotherhood overtly acknowledged any formal connection. It was however possible that former Muslim Brotherhood members might have joined Harakit Sawa’id Misr following crackdowns against the former by Egyptian authorities.
The cadre strength of Harakit Sawa’id Misr was not known, but the group was believed to be small, having no more than 100 members in 2017. The group was capable of carrying out relatively sophisticated attacks, including both targeted assassinations and attacks using various kinds of explosives. Harakit Sawa’id Misr was primarily active in the more densely populated areas around the Nile River, including the Cairo metropolitan area.
It was not known whether the group had any connections to other armed groups or foreign governments. Harakit Sawa’id Misr did however on several occasions condemn the actions of IS, another group active in Egypt.
