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ISIS Guns Down Christian Priest In Egypt

REUTERS

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Islamic State terrorists gunned down a Christian priest, Father Rafael Moussa, while he was on his way back from prayer  Thursday afternoon in the Egyptian Sinai peninsula.

“Islamic State soldiers were able to successfully target the priest Moussa Azmi, known as Rafael, who fights Islam,” the terrorist group said in a statement following the attack. ISIS historically targets minorities in any territory it governs.

ISIS militants hacked a Hindu priest to death June 7 while he was on his way to worship in rural Bangladesh. The priest, Anando Gopal Ganguly, was riding his bicycle to temple when three men came up behind him on a motorcycle.

ISIS is known to use Christians as human shields against any enemy forces in Iraq and Syria. The group also routinely kidnaps and sexually enslaves Christian minorities in territories it controls. Reports indicate girls as young as 11 and 12 are considered eligible rape victims. One young girl told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, her captor told her it was a “privilege” to be raped by him.

ISIS’s Egyptian affiliate is one of the most capable affiliates outside of Iraq and Syria. ISIS’s Egyptian affiliate is likely responsible for downing a Russian jet in late October 2015. The group also cooperates with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza strip.

 Israeli General Yoav Mordechai warned in February 2016 that ISIS fighters entered the Gaza strip through underground smuggling tunnels seeking medical treatment. Israeli officials also said the cooperation between ISIS and Hamas extended as far as military training, though Hamas officials denied any involvement with ISIS in the Sinai peninsula.

ISIS killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers throughout the Sinai peninsula since the Egyptian revolution in 2011. The terrorist group risks destabilizing the Israeli-Egyptian stable relationship. Israeli-Egyptian relations were stable since the Camp David Accords signed in 1978, and is the only strong relationship between Israel and any Arab nation.

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Saagar Enjeti