Egyptian Jihadists Claim Killing of U.S. Citizen Last August in Sinai

CAIRO – A jihadist group in the Egyptian Sinai peninsula claimed responsibility on Monday for killing U.S. oil expert William Henderson last August and posted copies of the victim’s passport and identity documents on its Twitter account.

The group formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis changed its name to Sinai Province in November after its leaders swore loyalty to the Islamic State terror group that controls large areas of Syria and Iraq.

“We declare our responsibility for the death of U.S. oil expert William Henderson in the Western Desert,” reads a tweet on the Sinai Province account, without elaborating any further.

Henderson, 58, an employee of the U.S. Apache Corporation, was killed last Aug. 6 under circumstances that have never been clarified.

Local media had previously referred to the incident as a criminal act, while the Egyptian authorities did not comment on the matter.

The jihadist group’s priority is to target Egyptian security forces. The only attack claimed by the group against foreigners to date was an attack on a bus of South Korean tourists in February.

Three days ago, Sinai Province claimed responsibility of killing five Egyptian soldiers, including a colonel of the Armed Forces, in Cairo and in the Qalyubia governorate of the Nile Delta region.

IS has urged its affiliates to kill citizens of the countries that have joined the U.S.-led alliance to fight the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.