More Leadeship Division in AQIM?

I am a fan of Silobreaker, one of about a dozen or so sites who have been interested in Al Qaeda and other Islamist group Activies in Africa for several years, before it was cool.

I recently came across this excellent summary of AQIM's activities, dated 1/15/09 by Silobreaker.

Though AQIM has been active since the date of this post, including the kidnapping of several hostages for ransom, and the Murder of Edwin Dyer.

If this murder of Edwin Dyer was commited by Abdel Hamid Abu Zaid of the Tarik Ibn Ziyad group, under Mokhtar Belmokhtar's watch, it may be that Mokhtar Belmokhtar will take action against Abu Zaid. Belmokhtar reportedly suspended his terrorist activities in late 2006 because of differences between he and Zaid.

It is important to discuss which AQIM leader was part of which activity, as each of the four AQIM groups are highly autonomous. They work together sometimes, share inteligence, but are very likely to operate independantly. Though recently depelted in battles in the Sahael, the different groups are back to conducting independant ambushes in their own territories

Silobreaker's has a great set of connnection maps I am reposting here.

Thanks Able2Act

-Shimron Issachar

Description: AQIM is an Algeria-based Sunni Muslim jihadist group that originally formed in 1998 as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a faction of the Armed Islamic Group, which was the largest and most active terrorist group in Algeria. The GSPC was renamed in January 2007 after the group officially joined al-Qa?ida in September 2006. The GSPC had close to 30,000 members at its height but the Algerian Government?s counterterrorism efforts have reduced the group?s ranks to fewer than 1,000.

Since the 1990s, the group has focused most of its attacks on Algerian security personnel and facilities to achieve its primary goal of overthrowing the Algerian Government and establishing an Islamic caliphate. Following its formal alliance with al-Qaida, AQIM expanded its aims and declared its intention to attack Western targets. In late 2006 and early 2007, it conducted several improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks against convoys of foreign nationals working in the energy sector. AQIM in December 2007 attacked United Nations offices in Algiers with a car bomb and in February 2008 attacked the Israeli Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, with small arms.

AQIM mainly employs conventional terrorist tactics, including guerrilla-style ambushes and mortar, rocket, and IED attacks. The group added the use of suicide bombings in April 2007, with attacks against government ministry and police buildings in Algiers that killed more than 30 people. AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdal announced in May 2007 that suicide bombings will become the group?s main tactic. The group claimed responsibility for a suicide truck bomb attack that killed at least eight soldiers and injured more than 20 at a military barracks in Algeria on 11 July 2007, the opening day of the All-Africa Games.

AQIM operates primarily in northern coastal areas of Algeria and in parts of the desert regions of southern Algeria and northern Mali. Its principal sources of funding include extortion, kidnapping, donations, and narcotics trafficking.
Leaders:
Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud (2007)
Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Mus'ab Abu Da'ud ((surrender in July 2007))
Kamel Bourgass (Imprisoned (England))
Observations: 2007: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is trying to expand its attacks beyond Algeria, drawing on a rising number of recruits from all over North Africa, thus threatening regional security, but also security in Iraq and eventually even in Europe.

In Morocco and Tunisia, the number of volunteers looking to be trained in GSPC camps has steadily grown since 2005.

Compilation by Silobreaker

Although Silobreaker has relied on what it regards as reliable sources while compiling the content herein, Silobreaker cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, integrity or quality of such content and no responsibility is accepted by Silobreaker in respect of such content. Readers must determine for themselves what reliance they should place on the compiled content herein.

The Rest @ Silobreaker