US oil worker said killed by Islamic State affiliate in Sinai

CAIRO — An Egyptian militant organization which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the killing of an American oil worker.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which now refers to itself as the Sinai Province, said on its official Twitter account late Sunday that it killed William Henderson. It published pictures of his passport and two identification cards, but did not say when or how it killed him.

The passport said he was a 58-year-old from Texas and his identification cards said he worked for Texas-based energy company Apache Corp. and Qarun Petroleum Co.

Apache said in August that one of its supervisors had been killed in an apparent carjacking in Egypt’s Western Desert. The company did not identify the man. It could not immediately be reached for comment.

On Sunday, an Egyptian court designated the Islamic State group a terrorist organization and banned it in the country.

The court ruling Sunday adds that it considers all of the Islamic State’s affiliates to be terrorist organizations as well.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis or Champions of Jerusalem, regularly attacks Egyptian security forces, and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group earlier this month.

The Islamic State group has carved out a self-styled caliphate in territory it controls in Syria and Iraq and demanded the loyalty of the world’s Muslims. A US-led coalition is now targeting it in airstrikes.

Other countries across the region also have banned the group.