Militancy on Rise in Egypt

Egyptian militants have intensified violence ahead of a presidential election to pick a replacement for jailed president Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood party has called the ouster “a murderous military coup d'etat.”

Militants who seek an Egypt under strict Islamic law are saying the ouster of Morsi and arrests of his leading party members prove that only violence will achieve their aim, analysts said.

“The attacks are increasing in frequency, in intensity and in geographic spread,” said Issandr El Amrani, North Africa director for the International Crisis Group, in Cairo.

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David Barnett, a research associate at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C., described Egypt's violence as an insurgency in its infancy.

“The jihadist groups weren't necessarily ready to pounce as soon as Morsi was overthrown,” Barnett said. “No one foresaw that. So they are, to a certain extent, still playing catch-up to the whole situation.”

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