Vanguards of Conquest

The Vanguards of Conquest (Talaa'al al-Fateh) is a terrorist organization that was originally founded in 1993 as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad operating in Somalia but became a separate faction that eventually folded back into the group under the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri.[1] The revived group is currently led by Magdy Salem.[2] The group has intervened to stop jihadis in the Sinai Peninsula from attacking Israel.[3]

## History

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In its first year, the Vanguards carried out two failed assassination attempts, the first in August, a Cairo bombing that only managed to injure Egyptian Interior Minister Hasan al-Alfi,[4] and three months later a similar bombing aimed at Prime Minister Atef Sedki, which killed a teenage girl at a bus stop.[5]

In late May 1995, Hassan al-Turabi met with Ayman al-Zawahiri to discuss the future of the Vanguards of Conquest; now to operate solely out of Egypt.[6] al-Zawahiri and Mstafa Hamzah organised a meeting in Ferney-Voltaire on the French-Swiss border, attended by a colleague of Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim, an associate of Showqi Al-Islambouli and the son of Said Ramadan.[6] The group decided to focus their efforts on Addis Ababa, and that their veteran members would come together under the leadership of Islambouli.[6]

In June 1995, they launched a failed attack against President Hosni Mubarak.[7]

The leader of the Vanguards was believed to be Kamel Agiza, and Canadian officials allege that Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub was his second-in-command.[8]

In December 1998, the Vanguards of Conquest issued a communique to Islamist groups calling for attacks against the United States "for its arrogance" in bombing Iraq ostensibly to distract from the Monica Lewinsky scandal.[9][10]

The group is alleged to have folded into Qaeda-al-Jihad when Zawahiri merged his group with Osama bin Laden in 2001. But in April 2002, Egyptian security forces arrested 30 men for allegedly planning to revive the Vanguards.[11]

## References

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1. ^ USIS Washington File, May 9, 2000, "US indicts suspects in East Africa Bombings", pp 1-4.
2. ^ "Jama'a al-Islamiya: Dozens of jihadis to join Syrian rebels within days". Egypt Independent. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
3. ^ Rahim, Ahmad (21 November 2012). "Egypt's Islamic Jihad Urges Restraint by Sinai Salafists". Al Monitor. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
4. ^ "Al Jihad: Egypt's second largest armed Islamic movement", Agence France Presse, November 18, 1997, p. 1
5. ^ "Jihad Group", Milnet Terrorist Group Profiles, September 21, 1998, p. 1
6. ^ a b c Bodansky, Yossef. "Osama bin Laden", 1999
7. ^ Terrorist Incidents, Record #7632, Iterate "Ethiopia", June 26, 1995, p. 1
8. ^ Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub
9. ^ Hitchens, Christopher. "No One Left to Lie To" Verso. 1999
10. ^ Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mahmoud Jaballah[permanent dead link‍], February 22, 2008. Appendix A.
11. ^ Extremist Groups, 2002, An international compilation of terrorist organizations, violent political groups, and issue-oriented militant movements (electronic document), 2nd Edition; Office of International Criminal Justice and the Institute for the Study of Violent Groups, Sam Houston State University, 2002, "Vanguards of the Islamic Conquest", p .1

* v
* t
* e

al-Jihad under the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri

al-Zawahiri ran AJ from 1991 until 2001, when it merged with al-Qaeda

Vanguards of Conquest|

* Kamel Agiza
* Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub
* Essam Marzouk
* Ihab Saqr
* Yassir al-Sirri

Core of al-Jihad|

* Ayman al-Zawahiri
* Attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan
* Returnees from Albania
* Mohammed Atef
* Mohammed Mutaleb
* Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif
* Thirwat Shehata
* Adil Awad Siyam

Killed in operations|

* Nazih Nushi Rashed
* Tarek Abdel-Nabi

Alleged members
of al-Jihad|

* Hani al-Sibai
* Ali Mohamed
* Ahmad Salama Mabruk
* Essam al-Qamari
* Mahmoud Jaballah
* Ibrahim Ismail Allam
* Ibrahim Eidarous
* Adel Abdel Bari
* Abu Yaqub al-Masri
* Abu Ayyub al-Masri
* Barakat Fahim Ali Mohamed
* Muhammad al-Zery
* Saif al-Adel
* Sayyed Ahmed Abdel-Maqssuod
* Sayyed Ajami
* Osama Hassan Ahmed
* Saeed Salama
* Abdel Fahmi
* Issam Alim
* Ahmad Isma'il 'Uthman
* Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi
* Ali Sayyid Muhamed Mustafa al-Bakri
* Ahmad Ibrahim al-Naggar
* Tareq Ali Mursi
* Magid Mostafa
* Mohammad Hassan Mahmoud
* Shawqi Salama Mustafa Atiya
* Mohamed Hassan Tita
* Ameen Yusef al-Domeiry
* Khaled Medhet al-Fiqi
* Muhammad Abdelrahim al-Sharqawi
* Muhammad al-Zawahiri
* Yusef Abdel Majeed
* Essam Hendawi
* Abdel Hadi al-Tunsi
* Nabeel al-Bora'i
* Essam Hasheesh
* Waheed Gamal al-Deen
* Hassan Ali
* Ismaeel Tantawi
* Osman Rabei

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