Egypt, jihadists in battle of versions over what happened in Sinai
Cairo releases video with 3D animations demonstrating their victory over ISIS, while militants post photos claiming to show destruction caused to Egyptian vehicles, helicopters in fighting in Sinai.
Fighting between Islamic State fighters and the Egyptian army in the Sinai Peninsula may have died down, but the battle of propaganda was at full swing on Friday.
The Egyptian army posted a detailed video explaining, with the help of 3D animations, how they thwarted the jihadists' attack in Sinai.
The video claims, among other things, that the Islamic State jihadists flew the organization's flags over several structures and documented it in order to create the impression to the press that they have captured Sheikh Zowaiid.
The video also claims that ISIS spread false statements and fabricated photos to hurt the Egyptian troops' morale.
The Egyptians claim that the attacks on their military posts in Rafah and Sheikh Zowaiid were meant to create anarchy and a security vacuum that would leave an opening for the ISIS-affiliated jihadists to declare an extremist Islamist Emirate in Sinai, "with the aid of anti-Egypt media."
Qatari network Al Jazeera appears several times in the video and is portrayed as being one of the media bodies to report on over a 100 Egyptian casualties when in reality, according to Cairo, there were only 17.
The Egyptian video also displays bodies of jihadist casualties, as well as featuring an alleged distress call by one of the militants, seeking help.
The Islamic State-affiliated group in Sinai, previously known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, responded in kind with claims accompanied by photos on social media of the destruction they wreaked upon the Egyptian forces.
The jihadists claimed they destroyed eight Egyptian military vehicles using guided-missiles and hit two of Egypt's Apachis, posting images to social media purporting to show militants firing anti-tank missiles at the helicopters and of the alleged wreckage.
According to the ISIS jihadists in Sinai, "The Egyptian helicopter pilots escaped and went to seek help from their Jewish masters (Israel), who sent five drones that interfered and accompanied the Egyptian F-16 jets in the aerial attack against jihad fighters who had to get away."
The Islamic State militants also claimed they were able to destroy outposts of the Egyptian army, attacked 20 posts and cut off their supply lines for hours. They further claimed to have killed dozens of Egyptian security personnel in their combined attack, named after Sheikh Abu Suhaib al Ansari.
According to the jihadists, they used two car bombs against two Egyptian outposts.
