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Africa North

Maghreb al-Qaeda torn apart by ISIS

2014-08-16

[MAGHAREBIA] His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... 's call for all jihadists to swear allegiance to his so-called caliphate is dividing al-Qaeda's Maghreb branch. Sahel security may now hinge on whether regional terror groups shift their loyalty from al-Qaeda to the self-declared "Islamic State" (ISIS). Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is split between those who see al-Baghdadi as their new leader and those who remain under the banner of the parent al-Qaeda organization led by Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... The infighting started in mid-July, when AQIM chief Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... (alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) decided not to ally his group with al-Baghdadi's terror organization in the Levant. He refused to recognise the Islamic State and instead renewed his allegiance to al-Zawahiri. AQIM's rejection of the Islamic caliphate was reported by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors radical Islamists' internet activities. The AQIM statement said: "We confirm we still adhere to our allegiance to our sheikh and emir Ayman al-Zawahiri. This is a sharia-based bay'ah, which we are committed to, and we haven't seen anything that would make us revoke it." But deep disagreements within AQIM following the renewed pledge may lead to the removal of Droukdel. According to Algerian daily El Khabar, several members of the al-Qaeda Council of Elders have already backed ISIS. Other Droukdel defectors were reportedly preparing to pledge allegiance to al-Baghdadi and establish a branch of the Islamic State in the Maghreb. "It's natural that Droukdel would reject that caliphate, given that he heads an organization that has its own way of planning and setting goals," says Sid Ahmed Ould Tfeil, an analyst of salafist ...also known as Wahhabis, salafists are against innovation in religion or in anything else. They eat the same things every meal of every day and all their children are named Abdullah or Mohammed. Not all salafists are takfiris, but all takfiris are salafists. They are fond of praying five times a day and killing infidels... ideology. "Droukdel receives his legitimacy from his loyalty to the parent al-Qaeda, which the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... established and which still has affiliates in the Maghreb," the analyst adds. Another cause for disagreements is the behaviour of al-Baghdadi's terror group. "The Islamic State uses harsher, crazier, more heinous and aggressive ways; something that is causing much harm to the image of jihad adopted by most other groups, which focus on specific targets, such as soldiers, military leaders, barracks, etc.," Ould Tfeil says. "ISIS' methods tarnish Islam by targeting various Moslem and non-Moslem sects," he adds. According to some observers, Droukdel's refusal to swear allegiance to al-Baghdadi sets AQIM apart from other jihadi groups in the Maghreb and Sahel. ISIS allies now include Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... in Tunisia and Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... in Nigeria. Maghreb countries have stepped up security measures around embassies and western interests to protect them against possible attacks by ISIS-affiliated elements. ISIS will not easily find sympathisers in the Maghreb region because of its methods and violence, analysts suggest. But those terrorist groups that support al-Baghdadi could decide to unify their efforts. Several countries have increased their aerial and satellite surveys of Sahel skies to identify the location of an expected summit of top Sahel jihadist groups, El Khabar reported. Indeed, ISIS' declaration of the caliphate might have been made to precede the declaration of the Islamic state in Africa, the paper quoted a security source as saying. There is another factor at play: the return of ISIS jihadists from Syria and Iraq to their homeland in the Maghreb. Jamal Laribi, an Algerian media observer of security issues in the Sahel, says that the returnees "are many and security forces in the Maghreb countries do not possess accurate databases about them". "They are more dangerous than AQIM because they have experience fighting in the ranks of the leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... , and they have experience in the use of various types of weapons," he says. Libya in particular is seeing a remarkable flow of ex-combatants of ISIS and those loyal to its ideology, he adds. "Most of the supporters of ISIS in Libya are active in the ranks of Ansar al-Sharia. If these components meet, they can form the human and geographical factor, which can threaten the Sahel and even directly threaten Europe." The Algerian media specialist warns that the idea of terrorist organizations in the region pledging allegiance to ISIS was not far-fetched. He cites the meeting in the Libyan port city of Derna between Abou Iyadh, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, and jihadi returnees from Syria. The purpose of the talks was to establish a new organization allied to ISIS. It was to be called ISIM, or the "Islamic State in the Islamic Maghreb". These jihadist organizations "are fighting and competing with each other", the Algerian analyst says. "These disagreements began to intensity with the return of some elements from Syria, especially since some of the returnees dared to criticise the policies of AQIM, and have come to see it as not committed to the teachings of jihad adopted by ISIS. They are saying that it will not win because it is not committed to the Sharia," Laribi adds. "Since terrorist organizations are always looking for a powerful umbrella to give them any kind of legitimacy, it was natural that they declared allegiance to al-Baghdadi and ISIS," Mauritanian analyst Abdallah Ould Sidi Mohammed tells Magharebia. "This constitutes moral support after the tremors they suffered lately, whether in the form of military strikes or internal erosion and struggles for leadership," the analyst adds. Still, JérÃ'me Pigné of the Institute of International Relations and Diplomacy in Gay Paree finds it unlikely that AQIM would ever decide to declare an "Islamic State in the Sahel", because such a move would only draw greater attention from national and international security forces.

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Africa North

AQIM sets up branch aimed at Libya, Tunisia

2014-02-02

[MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has big plans for Tunisia and Libya, and the terror organization intends to use Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... to achieve its goal. AQIM's Algerian chief Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... just appointed one of his henchmen to head up a new branch that has the two emerging democracies in its crosshairs. Bejaia native Khaled Chaieb (aka Lokman Abou Sakhr) will be the emir of the as-yet unnamed new body that merges Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia with the Okba Ibn Nafaa katibat, Assarih reported on January 14th. Whatever its name, the umbrella organization will really be "al-Qaeda in Tunisia". Droukdel (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) picked the new emir to replace Ansar al-Sharia chief Abou Iyadh. The criminal mastermind of the attack on the US embassy in Tunis was apprehended last month in Libya. The al-Qaeda boss had earlier lost a top deputy: Mokhtar Belmokhtar (aka "Laaouar"). The Algerian terrorist left AQIM to start a rival operation after Droukdel relieved him of his brigade command. Droukdel's latest favourite has been in Tunisia since Ramadan. He reportedly infiltrated the country via Jebel Chaambi with Nasser Toumi, a terror emir active in the region of Batna. Like Droukdel, Chaieb is a former chemistry student turned explosives expert. He is now trying to avoid capture while still recruiting and training jihadists for the new group. But even before the news of his elevation to emir by Droukdel, Lokman was named by the interior ministry as the subject of a "most-wanted" alert for involvement in the Jebel Chaambi massacre of Tunisian troops. When gunnies first appeared last spring in the rugged region along the Algeria border, the Tunisian defence ministry noted the al-Qaeda connection. "The armed elements holed up in Jebel Chaambi on the border with Algeria received logistic assistance of water, food and clothing from Tunisians sympathetic to them, which serves as evidence of the presence of an incubator for those turbans who are believed to belong to al-Qaeda," ministry front man Mokhtar Ben Nasr said. Word about Chaieb first emerged on January 9th, when Tunisia said it was hunting "a dangerous Algerian national - wanted in cases of terrorism - in the city of Kasserine". "Chaieb, known as Lokman Abou Sakhr, was involved in the liquidation of soldiers from the army and the national guard," the ministry said. He may be bound for Libya, but snuffies there are not easily led by outsiders. AQIM's desire to take control of Ansar al-Sharia and use it as a propaganda tool will not be easy, given the separate paths that Tunisia and Libya have followed. For the Droukdel henchman, Tunisia is just a way station on his journey to Libya's extremism capital of Derna. But it is unknown how the outsider will be welcomed by the local Death Eaters. The city is home base for Ansar al-Sharia, which is accused of having carried out the deadly attack on the US mission in Benghazi. AQIM is staking everything on this new front, which analysts say could give it a new lease of life after suffering top-level defections, as well as heavy personnel losses in northern Mali. The group is also coming under strong pressure from Algerian security forces. In response to the tightening nooses, AQIM has the choice to either hide out or seek new fronts abroad. "The main task of Khaled Chaieb is reorganising the ranks of fighters who received severe blows at the hands of Tunisian and Algerian armies, in addition to addressing the organizational confusion due to the absence of Abou Iyadh," says Mokhtar Belhasin, an expert in jihadist movements. Before his arrest in Libya on December 30th, Abou Iyadh threatened to use ten thousand armed gunnies of Ansar al-Sharia gunnies in the invasion of Tunisia. Now that he is out of commission, Droukdel aims to use his new appointee to stake a presence in both Libya and Tunisia. Representatives from Ansar al-Sharia in Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, as well as Algerian representatives of AQIM, held a three-day summit in Benghazi to plot a new strategy for the region, German Newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported last month. "Sending Khaled Chaieb to Tunisia follows recommendations from the Benghazi meeting, to carry out operations in the region," security analyst Waheed Baklouti told Magharebia. The best way now to counter the threat is for the governments of Tunisia, Algeria and Libya to improve communication, Tunis-based international law expert Murad Khemakhem tells Magharebia. "The implementation of exchange and development programmes and training of elements of law enforcement are essential, as well as financial support to modernise and improve the equipment of troops specialised in counter-terrorism," he adds. According to sociologist Lamia Belhasin, the recruitment of new fighters into the ranks of terrorist groups can be prevented "by the creation of rapid social solutions to revive marginalised neighbourhoods, especially the ones adjacent to the border". "There is a significant uptick of salafists in the slums. They became the main financiers of the micro-projects that are sought after by the poor. The poor will look at them as patrons and will oblige even if the demands include terrorist acts," she added. And they are very visible on Tunisian streets. During a January 24th march organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir to condemn the country's new constitution, Ansar al-Sharia's black and white flags were carried by some participants. Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... hefty bounties are being offered for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of gunnies active in Tunisia and Libya. On January 10th, Tunisia's Ansar al-Sharia and similar groups in Libya's Derna and Benghazi were labelled by the US as terrorist organizations. Group leaders Ahmed Boukhtala in Benghazi, Sufian bin Qumu in Derna, and Seifallah Ben Hassine of Tunisia (aka Abou Iyadh) were also named "global terrorists". Up to $10 million dollars in reward money is available to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans, including the US ambassador.

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Africa North

AQIM lashes out at Morocco

2013-09-17

[MAGHAREBIA] In an unprecedented move, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) launched a 41-minute provocative video about Morocco last Wednesday (September 11th). Styled as a "documentary", the internet video mocks the domestic and foreign policy of the country and its efforts to fight terrorism. It also shows an image of the Moroccan monarch engulfed in flames. The video includes footage of al-Qaeda Death Eaters training in the forests and mountains of Algeria under the personal supervision of Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud). The tape ends with a call by Droukdel for young people to join the ranks of jihadists. According to Mohamed Darif, a Moroccan researcher specialising in Islamic groups, the new video reveals the real "dilemma faced by the organization when targeting Morocco". "AQIM has achieved some success in attracting Moroccans and sending them to hotbeds of tension and battlefronts, particularly Syria and Iraq, but they did not succeed in general at targeting Morocco and compromising its institutions," he told Magharebia. "This failure has exacerbated the group's anger and rage," he added. What provokes al-Qaeda is the exception posed by Morocco, Darif explained. The world has seen al-Qaeda operations "expand into Libya and along the Algerian-Tunisian borders, as well as in Sinai, Egypt", he said. "Morocco is today the only country that still eludes al-Qaeda and this provokes its anger." "Consequently, issuing this tape is an expression of frustration in the face of the successes achieved by Moroccan security authorities in dismantling terrorist cells and preventing them from carrying out sabotage operations," he said. Indeed, the new tape comes not long after yet another Morocco AQIM cell was dismantled. "There is a strong desire in AQIM to carry out a quality operation in Morocco, in order to shake its self-confidence and steadfastness, and put an end to its exclusive condition in the region", political analyst Driss Kassouri confirmed. Ksouri noted that the leader of the dismantled cell was in direct contact with the big shotship of the organization in blood-stained Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, and was planning a retaliatory strike at Guelmim airport, among other targets. Mohamed Benhammou, president of the African Federation of Strategic Studies, shared that view. "Al-Qaeda seeks an operation in Morocco because of its symbolism and the fact that such an operation, if completed, would be considered a resounding victory, especially in the current period," Benhammou said. This is a crucial time in terms of restructuring these groups, he said, after the blows they received during the military intervention in Mali. "They witnessed disintegration and dispersion, as well as a flight of fighters," he added. The airing of the tape coincided with the publication by al-Qaeda central of an audio recording by Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , which also included incitement against Morocco. Amazigh human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... activist Boubaker Ounghir downplayed the impact of these threats but said they required due diligence and caution, "especially since al-Qaeda in the region is now in possession of a variety of weapons after the collapse of the Qadaffy regime in Libya and the chaos that followed". "In addition, there is also a factor of competition and a race between the various terrorist groups, especially AQIM and Mokhtar Belmokhtar new group, Mourabitounes in order to destabilise Morocco and end its exclusive condition," Ounghir said. Cherkaoui Roudani, a member of parliament and an expert on strategic issues said, "Al-Qaeda seeks to transform the North African region into a new Afghanistan, the so-called green fascist state which is totally incompatible with what Morocco represents in terms of its successful building of democracy. This model has become an obstacle to the ambitions of al-Qaeda." He added, "They will make every effort to wage war on the borders with Morocco, as they did with Tunisia in Jebel Chaambi." "They will do their utmost to conduct terrorist operations inside Morocco," he warned. "We have to be vigilant and to be on the lookout in order to thwart all their attempts and protect our societal democratic project."

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Africa North

Batna citizens help Algerian army thwart terrorist operation

2013-09-05

[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age... on Tuesday (September 3rd) asked the army to step up efforts to secure the border, four days after authorities thwarted an attempt by a terror cell to infiltrate a district in Batna. Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah briefed the president Tuesday on prevailing conditions in the country and along the border. That came after Algerian security forces on Friday killed one terrorist and tossed in the clink Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! two more during an operation in Batna. Another terrorist turned himself in after the intervention forces besieged him at a building where he took a family hostage. A fourth terrorist reportedly escaped. When the myrmidon took the family hostage, armed services cordoned off the area, deployed snipers on rooftops and avoided a direct confrontation with him for fear of the family members' lives. The terrorist tried to escape before he was surrounded by security forces, prompting him to turn himself in without resistance amid applause by curious citizens who gathered at the scene and expressed their relief over the operation. The Aurès Mountains in the province are a stronghold for terrorist groups. The province has witnessed several terrorist operations, including an liquidation attempt against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika six years ago. A terrorist group active in the region also carried out an operation in 2003 in which more than 45 soldiers were killed. The new attack was part of al-Qaeda's attempts to disrupt the security cordon imposed on the border and its main strongholds. Since Ramadan, the province has seen an escalation of movements by terrorist groups who set up fake security checkpoints on some paths and intimidated citizens. Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said that the Batna operation was "an isolated act" carried out by a terrorist group. On the side-lines of the inauguration of the autumn session of the parliament, Ould Kablia said that the security agencies managed to thwart a terrorist group's plan to attack the province. He noted that the operation took place based on information provided by citizens from Batna. Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ... Ould Kablia denied any relation between the terrorists' attempt to infiltrate Batna province, located in eastern Algeria, and the security events along the Tunisian-Algerian border. "The Batna operation carries a lot of indications," military expert Taher Ben Thamer commented. "The first indication is about al-Qaeda's attempt to move its operations from the mountains to urban areas and cities for several factors, including ease of finding accessible targets, especially security personnel, and also the possibility of hiding among citizens." He added, "Some snuffies rented and bought real estate in major cities taking advantage of ransom money and money obtained by extorting citizens. They can use these houses to hide and plan terrorist operations inside cities." The military expert said the terrorists' move from the mountains to the cities was in part due to the success of security forces in the groups' traditional strongholds. "Many of the areas where the snuffies are based, whether in desert or Kabylie, are under siege by security forces and it's impossible for the snuffies to move freely," Ben Thamer said. Algeria's el-Bilad daily reported that security agencies found a message with one of the snuffies purportedly sent by al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdalmalek Droukdel, (alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) to emirs. The message reportedly ordered brigade chiefs to step up terrorist operations within urban areas and to focus on recruiting new young members for the gangs. Directly after the operation, the security agencies beefed up security measures in some provinces by increasing checkpoints and security barriers, imposing strict controls and launching large-scale combing operations in the mountains.

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Africa North

Tunisia foils al-Qaeda expansion plan

2012-12-27

[Magharebia] Tunisia thwarted an attempt by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to establish a terror cell in the western regions of Kasserine and Jendouba, Interior Minister Ali Larayedh announced on Friday (December 21st). "We have discovered a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in a training camp run by three Algerians close to AQIM leader Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud" (aka Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... ), Larayedh said. Sixteen suspected cell members were taken into custody on December 13th, according to the minister. The AQIM cell also stands accused of carrying out the December 10th killing of a Tunisian National Guard officer in Kasserine province. Twenty-seven year old Anis Jlassi was killed when a shootout broke out with krazed killers. According to the interior minister, the suspects in the terror network were planning to carry out acts of sabotage in Tunisia. He added that the beturbanned goons rounded up during the past two weeks belong to the Uqba Ibn Nafi battalion, affiliated with AQIM. Larayedh said that al-Qaeda was aiming to form a camp in Tunisia at the border and to establish an organization associated with al-Qaeda. Their goal was to carry out subversive activities under the banner of jihad. He pointed out that al-Qaeda was also trying to attract young members who embrace their hard-line ideology. The terror network is also attempting to train the recruits militarily and ideologically, before sending them to camps in Libya and Algeria for further instruction. Larayedh explained that the terror training camp site was chosen to avoid detection. The interior minister said police found TNT, weapons, large quantities of ammunition, military maps, binoculars, encrypted documents and uniforms. Eight members of the terror cell were captured in Jendouba earlier this month in an operation shortly after the Kasserine clash. At the time, interior ministry front man Khaled Tarrouche said suspects were stopped near Fernana, where security officers found detonators and explosives. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... other terror suspects managed to escape and went into hiding on Jebel Chambi, the highest mountain in Tunisia. Larayedh said the efforts of the National Guard forces, security and army continued toward catching those who are in hiding in the mountains, adding that he hoped the operation would not take too long. The minister confirmed that they had Kalashnikov rifles smuggled from Libya and Algeria. Larayedh also revealed that some detainees were seen in demonstrations and protests as well as at camps organised by Ansar al- Sharia, the most rigid jihadi salafist organization in Tunisia. "Yet we have no evidence of organizational links between this group that is being formed and Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... ," Larayedh added. In this context the Tunisian interior minister called on parents to keep an eye on their children so they wouldn't get lured into adventures with "no good purpose or end, neither in this world nor in the hereafter".

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Africa North

Tunisia arrests 16 al-Qaeda suspects

2012-12-24

[Magharebia] Tunisia announced on Friday (December 21st) that it placed in durance vile Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! 16 men suspected of belonging to a group with ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the western regions of Kasserine and Jendouba, near the Algerian border, AFP reported. "We have discovered a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in a training camp run by three Algerians close to AQIM leader Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud (Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... )," in the Kasserine region, Interior Minister Ali Larayedh said. In an operation that the minister said followed the deadly Kasserine clash earlier this month, security services arrested eight people in the province. Weapons, ammunition, explosives, binoculars, maps and military uniforms were seized during the operation. Most of the weapons are thought to have come from Libya, according to Larayedh. The group was active in recruiting and training young Islamist Death Eaters in AQIM camps in Algeria and Libya, the minister added. Eight other bad turbans, including three Libyans, were arrested in the Jendouba region of northwest Tunisia. Security forces were still searching for Islamist suspects in the hills north of Ain Drahem on the Algerian border, Larayedh said.

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Africa North

Droukdel threatens Sahel states

2012-12-11

[Magharebia] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) just released a video warning African and European states against any military intervention in northern Mali. "If you want peace and security in your country, we are for it. If you want war, the Sahara is a large graveyard for your soldiers and a disaster for your interests," AQIM chief Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... said in a new video released by Sahara Media on Saturday (December 1st). "This war is going to make us more determined to hit your interests, which are numerous in the Sahel, and which we have not yet targeted," he said. The AQIM leader also claimed that his fighters had access to large quantities of weapons. "The Great Sahara will be a grave for your soldiers," he said. "We are men of war, and we have extensive experience and long breath. In addition, God has endowed us with a stock of weapons and young people, and therefore, it will be a long war, and also a sacred war for the sake of Islam." Directing his warning at Mauritania, Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , and Niger, Droukdel (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) said: "When your house is made of glass do not throw stones at people." His comments come in response to the decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to deploy 3,300 troops to oust Islamist Death Eaters and their al-Qaeda allies from northern Mali. It also coincides with news that Algerian terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar (aka "Laaouar") quit AQIM after being fired as one of its two top commanders in northern Mali. Confusion and anxiety at the top of al-Qaeda's Maghreb branch are apparent, according to analyst Mokhtar al-Salem. The Droukdel terror tape was timed to influence the diplomatic negotiations now under way in Ouagadougou between Ansar al-Din and the Malian government, he said.

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Africa North

AQIM chief Droukdel sentenced to death

2011-01-13

Recipe for rabbit stew: First, catch a rabbit... [Maghrebia] A Boumerdès court sentenced al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb chief Abdelmalek Droukdel (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) and 15 other Orcs and similar vermin to death, Le Temps d'Algerie reported on Tuesday (January 11th). The verdict against the 16 terrorists, including five emirs, was rendered in absentia. The Orcs and similar vermin were responsible for several attacks in Tizi-Ouzou and corpse-littered Boumerdes, most notably the deadly 2007 assault on a cop shoppe in Yakourene, Liberte reported. As part of the same court proceedings Monday, the Algerian tribunal imposed a 15-year prison sentence on Ahmed Chouki, 25. After he surrendered to security services in 2009, the Ouled Aissa native identified other suspects who allegedly provided food and information to gangs operating in the region.

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Africa North

Droukdel releases new AQIM audiotapes

2011-01-12

[Maghrebia] After months of silence, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdelmalek Droukdel (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) released two audiotapes on Sunday (January 9th), Tout sur l'Algerie reported. The Algerian terrorist discussed the riots in Tunisia and Algeria. The tapes are the first audio communication from AQIM since the large-scale military offensive last month in the Sidi Ali Bounab forest. The tape included no mention of the 50 gunnies reportedly killed during the ANP operation.

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Africa Subsaharan

French hostages killed in Niger

2011-01-09

[Al Jazeera] Two Frenchies kidnapped in Niger have been found dead following a failed rescue operation. The two men were found dead following festivities between security forces and the kidnappers, Alain Juppe, the French defence minister, said on Saturday. "With the operation launched and co-ordinated with French elements in the region, the beturbanned goons were intercepted at the Mali border and several of them were overpowered," Juppe said. "After the fighting, the two hostages were found dead." The Rooters news agency reported an unnamed source as saying the the bodies had been flown back to Niamey, Niger's capital. The two Frenchies were seized on Friday while eating dinner in a restaurant in Niamey. Four gunnies burst into the restaurant and ordered the two men out into a 4x4 vehicle with Benin plates in which other gunnies were waiting, according to witnesses. One witness said that the gunnies were speaking French and Arabic and were dressed in clothes worn by nomadic tribes in the country's northern desert. Following initial festivities with Nigerien security forces, in which the national guard chief was reportedly injured, a chase was mounted in an attempt to recover the hostages. "The Niger national guard immediately gave chase to block them from reaching a zone of refuge, which is a grave threat for our hostages," Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said earlier in a televised address from the French Caribbean region of Martinique. "At the minute I speak to you, and I'm careful, the Niger national guard is following the beturbanned goons on their route to Mali," Sarkozy said. "This operation is in progress." Sarkozy, who urged Frenchies to avoid the west African region until the security situation improved, said the abductors were heading to a safe zone in Mali which would be "extremely serious" for the hostages. No group has grabbed credit for the kidnapping, but there are suspicions that it could be linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which operates across West and North Africa's vast Sahara desert. La Belle France is already working to secure the release of five other kidnapped Frenchies seized in Niger in September along with a Togolese and a Madagascan. They are believed to be being held in neighbouring Mali by AQIM. In November, Abdelmalek Droukdel, alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud, AQIM's head, said in a message on A -Jazeera, that Osama bin Laden alone could negotiate the release of the hostages. But Michele Alliot-Marie, the French foreign minister, has rejected any suggestion that La Belle France would negotiate their freedom with bin Laden.

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Africa North

France rejects Al-Qaeda hostage demands

2010-11-20

[Bangla Daily Star] France yesterday rejected demands from an Al-Qaeda cell holding five kidnapped Frenchies in northern Africa that it negotiate their freedom with Osama bin Laden and pull its troops out of Afghanistan. "France cannot accept that its policy be dictated by anyone outside," new Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said in a statement after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) head Abdelmalek Droukdel made the demands in an audio recording on Thursday. The message said that France would have to negotiate personally with bin Laden to secure the release of five kidnapped Frenchies seized in Niger in September along with a Togolese and a Madagascan and believed held in Mali. The recording, broadcast by Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera, said that to ensure the hostages' safety, France must "hasten and take your soldiers out of Afghanistan according to a specific timetable that you announce officially." "France is doing all in its power for the hostages, wherever they are, to be freed safe and sound," Alliot-Marie said. Droukdel, alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud, said that "any form of negotiations on this issue in the future will be done with no one other than our Sheikh Osama bin Laden... and according to his terms".

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