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Africa North

Algeria: Mokhtar ŽresumesŽ terrorist activity

2009-04-23

[ADN Kronos] A North African Al-Qaeda leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has resumed his armed struggle in Algeria after two years of inactivity, security officials said on Tuesday, quoted by Algerian daily el-Khabar. Belmokhtar, also known as Khaled Abu Al-Abbas, is considered is considered one of the key leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and one of the most wanted terrorists in the Sahara desert region. Authorities said he marked his comeback by kidnapping Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler and his assistant, Louis Guay, on their way to a United Nations mission in Niger last December. He has also been implicated in the kidnapping of four tourists from Britain, Switzerland and Germany. Belmokhtar (photo) reportedly suspended his terrorist activities in late 2006 because of differences between him, as leader of the so-called Mulatahamoun faction and militant leader Abdel Hamid Abu Zaid of the Tarik Ibn Ziyad group. There was also a rift between Belmokhtar and Abdel Malik Droukedel, the current leader of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), one of the main components of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. However, Algerian media reports said Droukedel sent a representative and military advisor Yahia Djouadi, alias Yahoia Abu Amar, to reconcile the parties in 2007. Belmokhtar is wanted by the international police organisation, Interpol, and is the subject of sanctions imposed against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda by United Nations resolution 1267 which includes an asset freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo. Fowler, UN special envoy to Niger, and Guay, deputy director of the Sudan task force in Ottawa, and their Niger-based driver were kidnapped on 14 December 2008 about 45 kilometres northwest of Niamey. While the militant Front des Forces de Redressement initially claimed that its members had kidnapped Fowler and three others, a spokesman for the group later denied the claim. In January four tourists, a Swiss couple, a German woman in her 70s and a Briton, were seized in the border zone between Mali and Niger as they were returning from a Tuareg cultural festival. The North African branch of Al-Qaeda has claimed the kidnappings in an audio tape broadcast by the Arabic channel Al-Jazeera.

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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. 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.

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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.

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Africa North

Algeria: Al-Qaeda 'turncoat' reveals plans for suicide attacks

2008-09-10

(AKI) - To mark the month of Ramadan, leader of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdel Malik Droukedel, reportedly invited four or five terrorists in the west of the country to carry out suicide attacks. A terrorist turncoat revealed the information after he escaped from an Al-Qaeda cell on Sunday and turned himself over to police in the district of Wadi Rahiy, in the province of Ghalizan. After he surrendered, he decided to collaborate with police, revealing that Droukedel intended to carry out the attacks during Ramadan on key commercial targets in the west of the country. The turncoat used to operate in the central regions of Algeria, under the command of Hudheifa Abu Yunes al-Asimi who originally came from the capital, Algiers. He clashed with the leader of the group because he did not want to involve civilians in any attacks. According to the turncoat, Droukedel reportedly decided to change his strategy and relieve the pressure from central Algeria, recently the target of Al-Qaeda suicide attacks, to the western region to meet new objectives. He reportedly decided to invest in these new attacks with the money from the ransom gained from the kidnap of several businessmen in Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou, east of Algiers.

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Terror Networks

Iran under attack in new Al-Qaeda video

2008-09-09

(AKI) - Iran is accused of "collaborating" with the US in its occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, in a new video message released by the media arm of Al-Qaeda. The video entitled, 'Assessment of Seven Years of Crusades' was produced by the media arm, Al-Sahab, and features messages from Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, and other commanders. Released three days before the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the 90-minute video also attacks Lebanese, Pakistani and Afghan leaders. According to the Arab television network, Al-Jazeera, al-Zawahiri speaks of the particular role of Iran and what he calls "the crusade campaign against Muslim countries" and the "Iranian-Crusade" alliance that enabled the US to occupy Iraq. "The Muslim leaders of Teheran collaborate with the Americans in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, recognising the two collaborating governments that have left these countries," he says. Criticising what he called "two faced" Iran in its ambiguous relationship with the US, the Egyptian doctor also criticises Iraqi Shia clerics and the Lebanese Shia militant group, Hezbollah. "Hezbollah has not obtained any victory in Lebanon against Israel," he says. "The bizarre and ridiculous thing is that Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader) celebrates this victory every year, but we ask: victory for what? "For making them (Israel) retreat 30 kilometres, for the demilitarisation of the region and the acceptance of 15,000 crusader soldiers (referring to UNIFIL) that separate the mujahadeen from Israel?" Egyptian-born Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, al-Qaeda commander some believe to have been killed in an air raid in Pakistan last month, also appears in the video. He criticises former President Pervez Musharraf, whose photo appears engulfed in flames. "The traitor agent Musharraf betrayed the Islamic nation, aligning himself with the crusaders that fight the mujahadeen and Islam and the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan. For him there was no other way out other than leaving the presidency." The video calls for a continued Jihad or struggle to liberate Palestine and includes a message from Abdel Malik Droukedel, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, that criticises the opening of US bases in Algeria. The video closes with a message from militant preacher and Al-Qaeda recruiter Abu Yahya al-Libi that speaks of the situation in Somalia and Chechnya. The new footage released by Al-Jazeera is expected to be distributed on Islamic forums to reinforce the strength of Al-Qaeda around the world on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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Africa North

Algeria: Internal conflict stalls release of Austrian tourists

2008-08-15

(AKI) - Internal conflict within the militant organisation, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has reportedly slowed negotiations with Austrian authorities for the release of two hostages kidnapped in February. Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51, went missing while on holiday in Tunisia and the Algerian-based Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb then claimed to have kidnapped them. According to a report in the Algerian daily, Ech-Chourouk, negotiations are continuing between the militants and Vienna for the release of the couple believed to be held in the Sahara region, near the border of Algeria, Mali and Nigeria. The terrorists are reported to have softened their stance in seeking a ransom in exchange for their release and Austria has reportedly accepted in principle the payment of a ransom in the order of five million euros. However, negotiations have stalled because of confusion generated by the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the Algerian mountains, Abdel Malik Droukedel, who is apparently seeking a political victory. Yahya Jawadi, also called Abu Omar, is the leader of the Tareq Bin Ziyad Brigade which also operates in the Algerian Sahara, is unlikely to agree to the deal. Since the kidnapping, this group has been forced to cease its terrorist activities in the area due to lack of funds and is seeking a ransom in order to relaunch their role in the region. Earlier this year, Libya had agreed to act as an intermediary to help finalise the deal, using its influence with a local Tuareg tribe known as El Barabich, security officials told the media.

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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.

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