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Less than a week after denying reports that it had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, militants of the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, or ABM, released an audio clip late on Sunday, declaring their support for ISIS, according to media reports. The nine-minute clip was posted on a Twitter account claiming to be ABM's official account.

According to intelligence reports, the group is thought to have around 1,000 members, many of whom may have operated in other jihadi groups in the past. The group is one of the strongest and best coordinated in Egypt, and is in possession of advanced weaponry, including man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), rocket-propelled grenades, and Grad rockets.