Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Africa North

Terrorists kidnap Italian couple in Mauritania

2009-12-21

[Maghrebia] Terrorists presumed to be from al-Qaeda's Sahel wing kidnapped two Italian nationals and their Ivoirien driver on Friday night (December 18th) in the Mauritanian town of Mneyssiratt, some 900 km east of Nouakchott, Journal Tahalil reported. "Passengers on a minibus heading towards the Malian border were kidnapped by armed men. Their bus remained on site, bearing visible bullet holes," a security source was quoted as saying. Italian state television identified the victims as a 65-year-old man and his 39-year-old wife. The incident marks the second abduction of westerners in Mauritania within one month. Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for kidnapping three Spanish humanitarian workers on the Nouadhibou-Nouakchott road on November 29th. The two men and one woman are allegedly being held at AQIM training camps in northern Mali.

Link

Africa North

Algeria: Ten arrested in anti-terror operation

2009-12-17

[ADN Kronos] Algerian authorities have arrested ten suspected members of an Al-Qaeda cell in an anti-terrorism operation in the past two days, news reports said on Wednesday. The suspects were arrested in separate raids in the Algerian capital, Algiers, and in the east of the country, according to reports. In the anti-terrorism operation in Algiers, police arrested six suspected members of cell linked to the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb - the terror network's African branch. The suspects allegedly gathered "large" sums of money for Al-Qaeda which they had extorted from small businesses on the outskirts of Algiers. Four more suspects were arrested in Stif, 300 kilometres east of Algiers. They face charges of providing logistical support to armed groups. The four suspects arrested in Stif are originally from Boumerdes, east of Algiers and from Bouira, southeast of the capital, and do not not have previous police records, according to Algerian daily El Khabar. Algeria's national security directorate has put the country's anti-terror units on high alert and ordered security to be stepped up at checkpoints following intelligence reports that Al-Qaeda is planning terrorist attacks in the capital, El Khabar said. Al-Qaeda claimed twin bombings in Algiers in December, 2007 that killed that killed 41 people and injured close to 200. The bombs exploded outside Algerian government offices and the office of the United Nations refugee agency in Algiers, killing at least 11 UN employees were killed in the attack.

Link

Africa North

Algeria to begin April 11 twin bomb trial; Morocco arraigns terror network suspects

2009-10-18

[Maghrebia] The April 11, 2007 suicide bombings are among 57 terrorism cases on the docket for the new Court of Algiers session on Sunday (October 18th), APS reported. At least 80 people were killed by the car bomb explosions at the Government Palace in Algiers and a police station in Bab Ezzouar. Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attacks. In separate criminal court proceedings in Morocco, three suspected members of a terrorist recruiting network were arraigned on Thursday (October 15th), bringing the number of defendants in the case to 28, MAP reported. Last month, Moroccan authorities dismantled a terrorist network that allegedly recruited suicide bombers and guerrilla fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, another terrorism-recruiting trial in Tunisia on Friday resulted in sentences of up to six years for nine men. The defendants were convicted of trying to join al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq, Reuters quoted defence lawyer Samir Ben Amor as saying. No further information was released.

Link

Africa North

Algeria: Al-Qaeda had ŽcontactsŽ with militants in Italy

2009-06-10

[ADN Kronos] Algerian police have said that Al-Qaeda militants in the capital Algiers are in contact with members who live in Italy and Germany. According to the Algerian daily el-Khabar, members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb include young people in their 30's who are living abroad. The Algerian daily does not specify the number of members in the group, but it mentions Nasim, also known as Abu Sayyaf, who currently lives in Germany and was recently in Algeria to make contact with AQIM leaders. Police said inquiries revealed a link between the AQIM cell in Algiers and some Algerian citizens recently arrested in Italy. Last week, Italian police issued arrest warrants for five North Africans accused of plotting terror attacks in the northern cities of Milan and Bologna in early 2006. It is not known whether the arrests were linked to the cell in Algiers. The five were alleged to have planned attacks against the subway system in Milan and the San Petronio cathedral in Bologna which dates back to 1390. Police claimed the five were part of an international group which is active in Algeria, Morocco and Syria. The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but is now believed to have more widespread goals.

Link

Europe

Spain: Police arrest 17 Al-Qaeda suspects in north

2009-05-21

[ADN Kronos] Spain's police on Wednesday have arrested at least 17 suspects alleged to be members of an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb cell in the northern city of Bilbao. The arrests were followed by raids in various neighbourhoods throughout the city. The arrested - mostly Moroccan and Algerian nationals - are alleged to have financed Al-Qaeda by falsifying credit cards, as well as through drug trafficking and theft, Spanish media reported. A minor was also arrested in the raids. The anti-terrorism operation was ordered by judge Eloy Velasco of the National Court of Spain, a senior court which hears cases related to terrorism and organised crime. The arrests and raids took place early on Wednesday and continued throughout the morning. The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but is now believed to have more widespread goals. Spain suffered a major Al-Qaeda-inspired terror attack in the capital Madrid in 2004, when a total of 191 people were killed and 2,000 were injured when 10 rucksack bombs exploded in four crowded commuter trains. Twenty-one people, including a number of North Africans, were sentenced to over 40,000 years in jail for their roles in the attack. It was carried out by a loosely knit group of Al-Qaeda-inspired Muslim militants and occurred three days before the country's general election.

Link

Africa North

Al-Qaeda demands exchange of Abu Qatada for British hostage

2009-04-28

[Maghrebia] Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb posted an internet statement on Saturday (April 25th) threatening to kill a British hostage held in Mali if terror suspect Abu Qatada is not released within 20 days, Maghreb and international press reported on Monday. The Jordanian cleric, considered Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, is currently detained in Britain pending deportation to his home country. Al-Qaeda issued the demand days after releasing in Mali four foreign hostages kidnapped last winter, including the UN special envoy to Niger and two female tourists from Germany and Switzerland. Terrorists continue to hold two male hostages, a Swiss and a Briton.

Link

Africa North

Al-Qaeda claims Jijel, other Algeria attacks

2009-02-28

Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility Thursday (February 26th) for the deadly attack that killed nine security guards Sunday night near Ziama Mansouriah in Jijel province (350km east of Algiers), AP reported. In an internet statement, the group said it had killed 10 guards. This is the ninth attack claimed by the organisation this month, including the execution of three off-duty soldiers at a false checkpoint.

Link

Africa North

Algeria: Al-Qaeda mufti 'sacked for opposing suicide attacks'

2008-10-09

(AKI) - The leader of Al-Qaeda's North African branch has sacked its Islamic scholar or mufti, Rashid Zerami, for opposing suicide bombings in Algeria, local daily Ennahar reports. Zerami clashed over the issue with the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb's leader, Abdel Malik Droukedel, Ennahar said. The paper cited the testimony of an unnamed Al-Qaeda turncoat who is now in police custody. Besides the use of suicide bombers, Droukedel and Zerami also clashed over Al-Qaeda's recent strategy of kidnapping Algerian businessmen or their relatives to obtain a ransom, especially in the northern coastal Kabylia area. Droukedel has replaced Zerami with Abu Asim, a former leader of the hardline Algerian Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which in 2006 joined the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb>Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. Zerami, also known as Abu al-Hasan al-Rashid headed Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb's religious committee and was in charge of armed combat.

Link

Europe

Qaeda in North Africa: Droukedel threatens France and Spain

2008-09-23

(AKI) - A leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened France and Spain in an audio message broadcast on jihadist Internet forums on Monday. "To those that are involved in the war against Islam and have betrayed the Islamic nation, we say to them: Repent before God punishes you with his hands and with ours," said Abdel Malik Droukedel, who uses the name Abu Musab Abdel Wudud. "This is because judgement day is close and punishment is imminent. And whoever among the treacherous apostates thinks that France is in a position to ensure its safety, we tell them they are wrong, because France will not be in a position to do it, and will be worried for its safety." In the audio message, entitled "Message to our nation in the Islamic Maghreb", Droukedel reminds his listeners about Spain and Morocco's territorial dispute over the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. "Dear nation, it is not conceivable for any Muslim that loves Islam to speak of the Maghreb without remembering Ceuta and Melilla, occupied by Spain without remembering the injustice suffered by our nation," said Droukedel. "The complicity between Spain and international organisations such as the Arab League, the Islamic Conference and the United Nations is clear." Melilla and Ceuta are autonomous cities administered by Spain and considered by neighbouring Morocco to be an integral part of its territory and of immense political and economic significance. Morocco claims both locations to be "despoiled" territories, calling them by their Arabic equivalents of Sebta and Melillia. The cities have been under Spanish control for over 400 years. In the message, Droukedel also speaks against new NATO military bases in North Africa and accuses Moroccan King Mohammed VI of having betrayed the prophet Mohammed by having a Danish embassy in his territory. Regarding Tunisia, Droukedel accuses the government of being anti-Islamic and of passing laws against the implementation of Islamic Sharia law. Speaking about Mauritania, he reminds his listeners about Nouakchott's diplomatic relations with Israel, while he claims that Algeria is suffering from political 'interference' by France. "I assure you all that we do not kill innocent people and we will prevent the spilling of Muslim blood," he said. The Al-Qaeda leader says he will continue his fight to drive "France and the US from our country" and asks Algerian citizens to stay away from foreign organisations or government buildings because they are targets for attacks. Droukedel's message was aimed at Muslims in North Africa, and was also translated into French. The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but now believed to have more widespread goals.

Link

Africa North

Algeria: Bomb attack kills at least 11 and injures others

2008-08-21

(AKI) - At least 11 people are believed to have been killed and several others were injured in two explosions in Algeria on Wednesday. Two bombs reportedly exploded at a hotel and a military barracks in the town of Bouira, south-east of the Algerian capital, Algiers. The attacks came a day after a devastating suicide bomb attack killed 43 people and injured a further 38 at a police training college near Boumerdes, east of Algiers. Citing the state-owned press agency, APS, media reports said that 31 people were wounded in the blasts in the town of Bouira on Wednesday morning. The explosions could be heard several hundred metres away. No-one has taken responsibility for the attack but Algeria has been the target of a number of violent bomb explosions. Many recent terrorist attacks have been linked to theAl-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb> Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb.

Link

Africa North

Mauritania: Al-Q warns Muslims over 'unbeliever democracies'

2008-08-12

Nouakchott, 12 August(AKI) - Mauritania's military junta consulted the United States, France and Israel before toppling elected president Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi in last week's coup, Al-Qaeda's North African arm has claimed."The latest coup in Mauritania could never have succeeded without the agreement of America, France and Israel," said a statement posted on Tuesday to Islamist websites. The message is signed by Abdel Malik Droukedel, leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb and dated 10 August. Several Al-Qaeda cells are believed to be present in Mauritania. The country's security forces in April recaptured five suspected Al-Qaeda militants including a fugitive accused of killing four French tourists last December, officials said. The 24 December killing of the French tourists and a shooting attack against the Israeli embassy in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott in February raised fears of a rise in Islamist militant violence in the Saharan state "For this reason, we warn Muslims to be wary of all forms of unbeliever democracy, because they are just a ploy by the Zionist-Crusader alliance to trick you," read the statement."O people of Mauritania, you need to get back to Islam and and don't hesitate to wage holy war (Jihad) to fight the Jews and the Christians together with the apostate governments," the message continues. The military junta set up a 'State Council' which has promised to hold free and fair elections in Mauritania "as soon as possible." The 'State Council' is led by the head of Abdallahi's presidential guard, Mohamed Abdel Aziz. Mauritania has had a long history of military coups since it gained independence from France in 1960. In 2005, a military junta overthrew authoritarian President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, who had ruled the country since 1980. But the junta only ruled until the country's first presidential election in 2007 and did not stand in those polls.

Link

Africa North

Algeria: Top al-Qaeda leader killed

2008-07-14

Looks like it was a tough weekend for al-Qaeda... Algiers, 14 July (AKI) - The Algerian military has killed a top leader with the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb>Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, according to a report on Monday in the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The report said that some soliders ambushed a top al-Qaeda leader who was known by his battle name "al-Tuhami". The terrorist was together with other al-Qaeda members in the village of Ain al-Hamra, 70 kilometres east of Algiers. The ambush was carried out by a special platoon in-charge of fighting terrorism. The al-Qaeda leader was at the Ain al-Hamra village to meet a young man who had offered to provide logistical support for the group. Set up? The newspaper report said that once the al-Qaeda leader was surrounded, the soldiers asked him to surrender his weapons. He refused to do so and soldiers shot him dead in an ensuing gun battle. Will you surrender? Well I... BANG "Mahmoud! Pry his gun outta his cold, dead fingers, wouldja?" "With pleasure, sir!" Two people who were with al-Tuhami tried to escape but were also killed by the military. "Ow!" "Ow!" [Thud!] [Thud!] "Rosebud!" "Rosebud!" [Rattle!] [Rattle!] According to the police, the pair were young residents of the village. The clash with the militants caused panic among residents of village who were afraid of being caught in the cross-fire.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More