An Egyptian organization linked to ISIS has taken credit for the killing of an American oil worker on Aug. 6 in that country’s Western Desert, USA Today reports.
William Henderson, 58, was killed in a carjacking while he was in Egypt working for the Apache Corp. energy company. In an email to USA Today, a spokeswoman for Apache neither confirmed nor denied the group’s claims, saying that the incident was “still under investigation by the U.S. government,” and that due to the “ongoing nature of the investigation,” she was unable to comment any further. The U.S. Embassy also declined to comment.
The group, formally Ansar Beyt al Maqdis, or “Supporters of the Holy House,” now calls itself the Sinai Province, referring to a hypothetical Egyptian province of the ISIS caliphate. Ansar Beyt al Maqdis had previously been tied to al-Qaida, and the switch in allegiance has not been smooth, with the group denying ISIS ties last month before confirming them later and changing its name. It claims responsibility for over 60 deaths.
The militants claimed responsibility for Henderson’s murder on Twitter Sunday night, publishing pictures of his passport and two ID cards, the SITE Intelligence Group reports.
The ID cards reveal that the Texas native was a production expert involved in field operations for Qarun Petroleum Co., a joint venture between Apache and Egypt’s national oil company.