[Maghrebia] The al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is recruiting militants who fought in the Iraq war, according to Algeria's local press and security sources.
Sixty fighters have been recruited from Oued Souf, Batna and Msila following their return to Algeria, the Arabic-language daily Ennahar claimed in a November 11th article. However, security sources who spoke with Magharebia put the number at 56, and say small groups of five or six have been returning to the bush since 2007.
Military sources confirmed that the majority of the combatants recruited for AQIM -- formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) -- hail from Oued Souf. Several students are believed to be among the recruits.
"These individuals can be very dangerous in more ways than one, because they have acquired considerable experience on the ground and have knowledge that [AQIM] stands to benefit greatly from," said Hichem A., a journalist who specialises in security issues.
An Algerian military source with experience in counter-terrorism said the recruits could "serve as a prop for Droukdel's criminal organisation."
"They can contribute strategic support and contribute to an overhaul of AQIM, which would change the current situation, especially since further attacks cannot yet be ruled out," said the source, adding, "This organisation, which deals in violence and devastation, is capable of causing more surprises."
There are also concerns that Libyan terrorist networks are funnelling militants from Iraq into the Algerian bush. Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni warned as early as 2008 that foreigners were joining AQIM ranks with the help of the "king of the desert", Mokhtar Ben Mokhtar, a criminal kingpin who specialises in smuggling people and weapons.
Zerhouni claimed that 40 AQIM militants were originally from Libya, Tunisia, Mali and Morocco.
To counter AQIM's recruitment drive, Algerian and Iraqi leaders will soon co-operate by sharing counter-terrorism information. Morocco and Algeria have also agreed to work together and share their knowledge.
"I think it's to be expected that these young men who have returned from a war will head off to the bush," said a psychologist who works with jailed terrorists. "Several terrorists who are being treated here have managed to re-establish their links with other terrorists despite being imprisoned, and went back down the road of resistance after being lucky enough to be among those to benefit from the laws on the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation."
"These individuals have lost all concept of life," said the psychologist. "Now they hide out in the bush, where they only know the law of violence -- so inevitably, they've become addicted to blood."
However, some experts are confident that AQIM is weakening, and cannot meet its goals even by finding new recruits. "[AQIM] continues to menace parts of the Maghreb and the Sahel but has failed to meet its objectives," the co-ordinator for counter-terrorism at the US Department of State on Tuesday, Daniel Benjamin, said on Tuesday. "[AQIM] is financially strapped, especially in Algeria, and is incapable of achieving its objectives in terms of recruitment," added Benjamin. |
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