|
 Ashmawy’s background makes him a potent figure among Islamist
fighters, who President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi say pose an existential
threat to Egypt. “Ashmawy is the most dangerous terrorist we face,”
an Egyptian National Security official told Reuters. “He is the
mastermind and executor.”
Security officials say the former military man, whose allegiance has
switched from Islamic State to Al Qaeda, has carried out some of the
most high-profile attacks in Egypt. These include the attempted
assassination of former Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in May
2013, and the killing in June this year of Egypt's top public
prosecutor in a car bomb.
As Egypt heads to parliamentary elections on Oct. 18, Ashmawy's
story illustrates the complexities of the security challenge facing
the country. Egypt has struggled with Islamist sympathizers in the
military since 1981, when army officers assassinated President Anwar
Sadat. Today the government, run by a former military man, hopes the
elections will help bring stability. People like Ashmawy challenge
that.
 Ashmawy has spent the past decade using what he knows about the
security forces against them. He moved to the Libyan town of Derna,
a hotbed of Islamist radicalism near the border with Egypt, about a
year ago, arriving in a truck surrounded by gunmen, according to
local resident Ehab Senousi.
In Derna, out of reach of Egyptian law enforcement, he runs an Al
Qaeda cell, say several Egyptian security officials. So far, despite
the toughest crackdown on militancy in the country's history, he has
managed to evade capture. His path from the military to Egypt’s most
wanted man – described by former colleagues, relatives and Egyptian
security officials – shows that many of the country's problems are
homemade.
A senior military officer in the Sinai, where Ashmawy joined Islamic
State's Egypt affiliate, said: "We are not intimidated by any of
them - neither Ashmawy or anyone else ... He will fall soon.
"The problem is he is outside the country, specifically in Libya,
and this makes it more difficult to arrest him. We are on the right
path. We need a little bit of time to eliminate terrorism in Egypt."
Ashmawy could not be reached for comment.
SOCCER PLAYER
Born in 1978, Ashmawy is a fitness fanatic whose political views
were slow to emerge, according to relatives. He joined a special
forces unit called Sa'aika (Thunderbolt) in 1996, giving no sign of
opposition to then President Hosni Mubarak, said relatives and
associates.
"He used to cheer soccer teams with us on television. He was not
extreme in any way," said an army officer who knew him. "He was a
good soccer player."
After about a year, Ashmawy started to become more pious, people who
knew him said. He was caught handing out Islamist literature and
pamphlets to other officers. Saeed Ismail, a former army officer who
knew Ashmawy for nearly two years, said Ashmawy was punished but
still organized gatherings after morning prayers.
"He talked with us about the need to have our own personalities and
not to accept orders without being convinced of them," said Ismail.
 Ashmawy began to fast regularly and would often criticize the
government. One day, Ismail recalls, Ashmawy yelled at two
conscripts, "Victory will only come through force."
After four years in Thunderbolt, Ashmawy was transferred to an
administrative post where the authorities thought he would be less
of a threat. But he met other officers, discussed political Islam,
and kept handing out banned books.
TORTURE
Relatives say a tipping point came in 2006. A close friend of
Ashmawy's was detained by state security agents, they say, adding
that they believe the man was tortured and died in custody. After
that, they noticed a sharp shift in Ashmawy's temperament.
"Before this incident he was religious like any other Egyptian but
he did not hate the men from state security or the army and he had
many friends in the police," said his nephew, Osama Mohamed, who
said he was close to his uncle. "After this incident he cut all of
them off except for two."
In 2007, a military court expelled Ashmawy from the army. He started
an import-export business in Cairo, trading clothes and auto parts.
And he kept on meeting other former military officers in a mosque
beneath his father's apartment.
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In the chaos that ended three decades of rule by Mubarak in 2011,
Ashmawy dropped off the radar of military intelligence, security
officials said.
Islamist President Mohamed Mursi took over. When Sisi toppled Mursi
in 2013, militants based in the Sinai launched an insurgency. In
particular, fighters with a group called Ansar Beyt al-Maqdis
stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police.
Ashmawy had joined Ansar in 2012. A year later, he emerged as a key
operative, according to security officials, heading a cell that
taught fighters how to carry out suicide bombing missions, assemble
roadside bombs and shoot soldiers.
DEEP KNOWLEDGE
In 2013, one week after the former interior minister survived an
assassination attempt, security forces raided Ashmawy's house.
Instead of Ashmawy, they found extensive exercise equipment
including climbing ropes hanging from a ceiling.
Police also raided the gym in Cairo where Ashmawy used to work out
for three hours every Friday.
"He never spoke with anyone else,” the gym manager said. “When the
call to prayer came he prayed inside the gym. He didn't like to talk
about politics."
One Egyptian security official tracking Ashmawy told Reuters Ashmawy
is highly effective because he knows how the security and military
officers who are after him think. "He has managed to make daring
escapes when we had him surrounded."
In late 2013, security officials surrounded Ashmawy and other
militants for 24 hours in a desert area near Ain al-Sukhna near the
Red Sea. Five men were shot dead, but Ashmawy and one other escaped,
according to the officials.
"How this happened I don't know," said a special forces officer. The
security official tracking Ashmawy said he had deep knowledge of
desert escape routes and checkpoints. Sometimes he dresses like a
Bedouin; other times in a cap and jeans.
In July this year, the security forces may have come closer than
ever to capturing Ashmawy when he led a machinegun and
rocket-propelled grenade attack on a checkpoint on the Farafra Oasis
Road near Libya that killed 22 border guards.
Ashmawy was wounded, they say. But he got away.
DERNA
It was then that Ashmawy headed to Libya, taking advantage of the
chaos that has gripped the country since Muammar Gaddafi fell.
It is difficult for Egypt to track him in Libya. Though Egyptian
jets bombed Islamic State targets in Derna in February, the military
is hesitant about seeking out Ashmawy in a neighboring country.
There is scant intelligence to go on, say several security
officials.
In November 2014, Ashwamy’s Sinai-based militant group pledged
allegiance to Islamic State. Ashwamy split with them, security
sources believe. He has been joined in Derna by three former army
officers and two ex-policemen, they say.
In July this year, security officials recognized Ashmawy’s voice in
an audio message that condemned Sisi and called for a holy war
against his government.
"All of you must come together to confront your enemy,” said the
message, carried by U.S.-based monitoring group SITE. “Do not fear
them,” Ashmawy said, “but fear Allah if you are truly believers."
(Writing by Mike Georgy; Edited by Sara Ledwith)
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reserved.]
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