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American officials are acknowledging a terror plot in Algeria that aimed to attack US or European ships in the Mediterranean. The plot, which was similar to that of the bombings in Yemen of the USS Cole in 2000 and the Limburg oil tanker in 2002, included ramming explosives-filled boats into Western-flagged ships, but was interrupted by Algerian authorities in the early planning stages.
ABC reported that US officials had been aware of the plot before the Algerian daily newspaper, Echorouk, broke the story, but hinted that Algerian authorities had foiled the plot without the help of the US government.
Three terror cell members were arrested after arousing suspicions among Algerian authorities when they visited jihadist websites at a local Internet cafe. Although no specific US ship was identified as a target, according to US authorities, Echorouk reported that the plotters had already purchased a boat to carry out the attack.
When asked if the US had played any role in uncovering the plot, a US counterterrorism official gave ABC a vague response, saying, "We know that al Qaeda and their sympathizers continue to plot against the US and our allies [and] as such, we are in touch with a number of foreign governments on issues pertaining to counterterrorism."
Authorities believe the plot was directed by the Algerian-based terror franchise known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group, which had earlier called itself the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), was officially welcomed into the al Qaeda fold by then second-in-command Ayman al Zawahiri in a Sept. 11, 2006 video.
In recent years, AQIM has tried to make headlines to keep pace with other affiliates such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the ever-growing al Qaeda-aligned Somali insurgency, Shabaab. Although most of AQIM's attacks are aimed at Algerian government and military targets, the group has recently begun to rely on kidnapping European tourists as a means to further fund its desire to conduct attacks globally
By WES BRUERJanuary 26, 2012 6:35 PM
The Rest @ The Longwar Journal
Showing posts with label AQIM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AQIM. Show all posts
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Two French Geologists Kidnapped in Mali
It is customary for AQIM to use their Tuareg connections to hold hostages in the Sahel. AQIM 's hostage fund raising specialist is Abdelmalek Droukdel. It is likely he is the general contractor for the Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic kidnappings this week, or is now handling the communication for an opportunistic operation.
-Shimron Issachar
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HOMBORI, Mali — French soldiers joined Mali's army Friday in the hunt for two French geologists who were kidnapped by an armed gang this week.
The two were seized from their hotel in the eastern village of Hombori near the border with Niger early Thursday, in an assault bearing the hallmark of Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants.
An AFP journalist saw about a dozen of the French soldiers near Hombori.
They had been despatched from a nearby town where they are training elite Mali soldiers to join the local army in trying to track down the captives.
According to documents seen Friday by the journalist, the names of the two French men are Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic. They had arrived on Tuesday night, and the hotel manager put their names on file.
The same names were on company documents of their employer, Mande Construction Immobiliere, also seen by AFP.
Northern Mali is classified as a "red zone" by the French authorities, which is a recommendation that travel there be avoided. Hombori is in the "orange zone" to the south, deemed less dangerous.
The kidnappings were the first in this region situated to the south of the vast Malian desert and close to Dogon territory, which is popular with tourists because of the famed masks, architecture and dances of the Dogon people whose land lies close to the border with Burkina Faso.
Thursday's kidnapping, the latest in a series of abductions of foreigners, was believed to be the of work Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but there has as yet been no claim of responsibility.
AQIM has bases in the northern Mali desert from which it organises raids and kidnappings and deals in the trafficking of weapons and drugs.
A security source in Hombori said a search was under way for "two Sahrawis, two Algerians and a Malian known for drug trafficking between the camps in Tindouf (housing Sahrawi refugees from Western Sahara) in west Algeria and the Sahel.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Thursday confirmed that the men had been taken "in circumstances that were not yet clear".
The latest kidnapping brings to six the number of French hostages in the restive Sahel area, with AQIM still holding four French nationals abducted in Niger in September 2010.
The four were among seven people kidnapped at Arlit, the main uranium mining town in Niger. They included an executive of the French nuclear giant Areva and his wife, both French, with five employees of a sub-contractor of Areva, who were identified as three French men, a Togolese and a Madagascan.
The French woman and the two African men were freed on February 24, but the others are still being held.
The Rest @ AFP
-Shimron Issachar
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HOMBORI, Mali — French soldiers joined Mali's army Friday in the hunt for two French geologists who were kidnapped by an armed gang this week.
The two were seized from their hotel in the eastern village of Hombori near the border with Niger early Thursday, in an assault bearing the hallmark of Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants.
An AFP journalist saw about a dozen of the French soldiers near Hombori.
They had been despatched from a nearby town where they are training elite Mali soldiers to join the local army in trying to track down the captives.
According to documents seen Friday by the journalist, the names of the two French men are Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic. They had arrived on Tuesday night, and the hotel manager put their names on file.
The same names were on company documents of their employer, Mande Construction Immobiliere, also seen by AFP.
- The two men had been sent by the firm to take soil samples in the Hombori region where it plans to build a cement factory.
- Lazarevic, described by a witness as a large man while Verdon was said to be "more frail", had just completed their first day's work on the ground when they were kidnapped.
- The watchman at the hotel said that "the kidnappers were armed to the teeth (...) I was tied up and told to point out the rooms of the Frenchmen, whom they brutally took away."
- The kidnap was "well organised", said a source in the security forces at Hombori. "We think that these people came from one of Mali's neighbouring countries to take part in the operation."
Northern Mali is classified as a "red zone" by the French authorities, which is a recommendation that travel there be avoided. Hombori is in the "orange zone" to the south, deemed less dangerous.
The kidnappings were the first in this region situated to the south of the vast Malian desert and close to Dogon territory, which is popular with tourists because of the famed masks, architecture and dances of the Dogon people whose land lies close to the border with Burkina Faso.
Thursday's kidnapping, the latest in a series of abductions of foreigners, was believed to be the of work Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but there has as yet been no claim of responsibility.
AQIM has bases in the northern Mali desert from which it organises raids and kidnappings and deals in the trafficking of weapons and drugs.
A security source in Hombori said a search was under way for "two Sahrawis, two Algerians and a Malian known for drug trafficking between the camps in Tindouf (housing Sahrawi refugees from Western Sahara) in west Algeria and the Sahel.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Thursday confirmed that the men had been taken "in circumstances that were not yet clear".
The latest kidnapping brings to six the number of French hostages in the restive Sahel area, with AQIM still holding four French nationals abducted in Niger in September 2010.
The four were among seven people kidnapped at Arlit, the main uranium mining town in Niger. They included an executive of the French nuclear giant Areva and his wife, both French, with five employees of a sub-contractor of Areva, who were identified as three French men, a Togolese and a Madagascan.
The French woman and the two African men were freed on February 24, but the others are still being held.
The Rest @ AFP
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
AQIM Smuggles Drugs for FARC
NEW YORK — A Malian man faces up to 15 years in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking cocaine to fund the activities of Al-Qaeda and FARC guerrilla fighters in Colombia, US prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Oumar Issa, who was arrested in Ghana in December 2009 at the request of the United States, and subsequently transported to New York, admitted one count of "conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization."
Issa is scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Richard Holwell on February 15, 2012. Cases against his two conspirators are ongoing.
Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the southern district of New York, said narcotics trafficking provided vital cash to terrorist organizations, and Issa's guilty plea underscored prosecutors commitment to catching wrongdoers.
The Rest @ AFP
Oumar Issa, who was arrested in Ghana in December 2009 at the request of the United States, and subsequently transported to New York, admitted one count of "conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization."
- Court papers said he agreed to move cocaine through West and North Africa to support the drug-trafficking activities of Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
- From September 2009 through December 2009, Issa and two other Malians agreed to provide the FARC with "logistical assistance and secure transportation for a shipment of cocaine across Africa, (and) false identification documents," despite knowing the FARC "was engaged in terrorist activity," prosecutors said.
- "The defendants also agreed to provide material support and resources, including property, and currency and monetary instruments to Al-Qaeda and AQIM, knowing that these groups were engaged in terrorist activities," they added.
Issa is scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Richard Holwell on February 15, 2012. Cases against his two conspirators are ongoing.
Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the southern district of New York, said narcotics trafficking provided vital cash to terrorist organizations, and Issa's guilty plea underscored prosecutors commitment to catching wrongdoers.
The Rest @ AFP
Monday, October 31, 2011
AQIM Warns they will Attack Commercial Aircraft Attacks
French journalists embedded in recent counter terror operations in the Sahael region of Africa claim to have been briefed that AQIM has warned of upcoming surface-to-air missile attacks against commercial aircraft. Though it is buried deep in the following story, the timing of such a warning is important. Salafist teachings tell Mujahdin to warn the oppressors so that they may repent. Al Qaeda organizations and their affiliates have consistently given repentance warnings before they introduced a new methods of warfare. This may indicated that AQIM has resolved their SA-7 training and battery issues.
- Shimron Issachar
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NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Regional cooperation is needed in the fight against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb but many potential allies are content to point fingers, a specialist said.
Heavy weaponry lost during the Libyan war is in the hands of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, French newspaper France 24 reports. Its journalists were embedded recently with a counter-terrorism unit in the deserts of Mauritania.
The report said Mauritanian officials say AQIM now has surface-to-air missiles in its possession that can down a commercial airliner.
Mauritania declared parts of its desert a demilitarized zone in 2008 to combat terrorist groups like AQIM, the North African branch of al-Qaida.
Authorities there said, however, that close cooperation between countries in the region is the only effective strategy against AQIM.
Mohamed Mahmoud Adoulmaaly, a newspaper editor and AQIM specialist, told France 24, however, that regionally cooperation was unlikely.
"Algeria spends it's time warning against the French presence and not giving any support, same goes for Niger," he said. "The interests of these countries are all totally divergent."
AQIM took responsibility for a September attack on the Cherchell Military Academy in Algeria that left 16 students and two civilians dead. Washington had earlier acknowledged that AQIM had issued threats against chartered planes in Algeria.
U.S. counter-terrorism officials told reporters during a recent background briefing that "these regional nodes are the way of the future" for al-Qaida.
The Rest @ UPI
- Shimron Issachar
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NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Regional cooperation is needed in the fight against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb but many potential allies are content to point fingers, a specialist said.
Heavy weaponry lost during the Libyan war is in the hands of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, French newspaper France 24 reports. Its journalists were embedded recently with a counter-terrorism unit in the deserts of Mauritania.
The report said Mauritanian officials say AQIM now has surface-to-air missiles in its possession that can down a commercial airliner.
Mauritania declared parts of its desert a demilitarized zone in 2008 to combat terrorist groups like AQIM, the North African branch of al-Qaida.
Authorities there said, however, that close cooperation between countries in the region is the only effective strategy against AQIM.
Mohamed Mahmoud Adoulmaaly, a newspaper editor and AQIM specialist, told France 24, however, that regionally cooperation was unlikely.
"Algeria spends it's time warning against the French presence and not giving any support, same goes for Niger," he said. "The interests of these countries are all totally divergent."
AQIM took responsibility for a September attack on the Cherchell Military Academy in Algeria that left 16 students and two civilians dead. Washington had earlier acknowledged that AQIM had issued threats against chartered planes in Algeria.
U.S. counter-terrorism officials told reporters during a recent background briefing that "these regional nodes are the way of the future" for al-Qaida.
The Rest @ UPI
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Abdelmalek Droukdel
Rome, 4 Oct. (AKI) - Underscoring concerns about a rise of extremism in Libya, the purported leader of Al-Qaeda's North African branch has urged the rebels who ousted autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi to impose Islamic rule.
In a 12-minute audio message posted to jihadist websites, the voice of a man identified as Abdelmalek Droukdel congratulated the rebels for toppling Gaddafi and taking the Libyan capital, Tripoli.But the message warned the west to stay away from Libya and urged rebels not to succumb to "NATO blackmail" as Gaddafi and members of his family remained at large.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb will torch the armies of France and NATO in Libya if they attempt to lead a ground invasion of the country," the message said. "We will set their armies alight if they set foot in Libya," it stated.
To avenge Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's killing by US special forces in Pakistan in May, AQIM will "deal a killing blow and will destroy the economies of western countries to complete the 9/11 attacks on America," the message warned.
The message said anti-Gaddafi forces' victory in Libya would inspire a revolution in neighbouring Algeria and urged Libyans to rise up against the rebel National Transitional Council, described as an agent of France.
"It is for Libyans to protect their revolution agains the unbeliever countries and the servants of France," the message stated.
"No foreign party has the right to interfere in the affairs of Libya or to try and impose alternatives," the message added.
The authenticity of the tape has not been verified.
The Rest @ ADNKronos
In a 12-minute audio message posted to jihadist websites, the voice of a man identified as Abdelmalek Droukdel congratulated the rebels for toppling Gaddafi and taking the Libyan capital, Tripoli.But the message warned the west to stay away from Libya and urged rebels not to succumb to "NATO blackmail" as Gaddafi and members of his family remained at large.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb will torch the armies of France and NATO in Libya if they attempt to lead a ground invasion of the country," the message said. "We will set their armies alight if they set foot in Libya," it stated.
To avenge Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's killing by US special forces in Pakistan in May, AQIM will "deal a killing blow and will destroy the economies of western countries to complete the 9/11 attacks on America," the message warned.
The message said anti-Gaddafi forces' victory in Libya would inspire a revolution in neighbouring Algeria and urged Libyans to rise up against the rebel National Transitional Council, described as an agent of France.
"It is for Libyans to protect their revolution agains the unbeliever countries and the servants of France," the message stated.
"No foreign party has the right to interfere in the affairs of Libya or to try and impose alternatives," the message added.
The authenticity of the tape has not been verified.
The Rest @ ADNKronos
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
5 Algerians In Basque, in Spain Arrested for Supporting AQIM
In light of recent arrests of AQIM connected Algerians in the Basque area of Spain, I am Wondering About connections between AQIM , ETA and the Basque Separatist movement. Any Comments?
-Shimron Issachar
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By CIARAN GILES, Associated Press – 9 hours ago
MADRID (AP) — Spanish police arrested five Algerians on Tuesday suspected of helping finance an al-Qaida-linked terror group in North Africa.
The arrests took place in four towns in the northern Basque and Navarra regions, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The five are suspected of giving logistical and financial support to members of the radical Islamist group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which operates in Algeria.
AQIM grew out of the armed groups fighting the Algerian government in the 1990s after elections were canceled by the military in 1991 to stave off a victory for an Islamist political party. The group declared allegiance to al-Qaida in 2006 and changed its name, starting a renewed campaign of bombings and kidnappings across the Sahara.
The group currently holds four French hostages and French officials have called it the biggest terror threat to France and its interests.
The Spanish statement said the five arrested also maintained contacts with other radical Islamists in France, Italy and Switzerland and seized a large amount of documents and computer material.
They were named as Mohamed Talbi, Hakim Anniche, Mounir Aoudache, Abdelghaffour Bensaoula and Ahmed Benchohra, between 36 and 49 years old.
Dozens of suspected radical Islamic militants have been arrested in Spain since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington, and again after the 2004 commuter train bombings in Madrid.
The Rest @ AP
-Shimron Issachar
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By CIARAN GILES, Associated Press – 9 hours ago
MADRID (AP) — Spanish police arrested five Algerians on Tuesday suspected of helping finance an al-Qaida-linked terror group in North Africa.
The arrests took place in four towns in the northern Basque and Navarra regions, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The five are suspected of giving logistical and financial support to members of the radical Islamist group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which operates in Algeria.
AQIM grew out of the armed groups fighting the Algerian government in the 1990s after elections were canceled by the military in 1991 to stave off a victory for an Islamist political party. The group declared allegiance to al-Qaida in 2006 and changed its name, starting a renewed campaign of bombings and kidnappings across the Sahara.
The group currently holds four French hostages and French officials have called it the biggest terror threat to France and its interests.
The Spanish statement said the five arrested also maintained contacts with other radical Islamists in France, Italy and Switzerland and seized a large amount of documents and computer material.
They were named as Mohamed Talbi, Hakim Anniche, Mounir Aoudache, Abdelghaffour Bensaoula and Ahmed Benchohra, between 36 and 49 years old.
Dozens of suspected radical Islamic militants have been arrested in Spain since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington, and again after the 2004 commuter train bombings in Madrid.
The Rest @ AP
Monday, September 26, 2011
AQIM Recruits in Morocco Aim at Europe
Morocco smashes three-member Al Qaeda-linked network
RABAT Morocco said on Friday it had broken up a three-man cell with links to Al Qaeda, while Mali’s intelligence officials say the group is seeking to infiltrate into Morocco to facilitate attacks inside Europe.
Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch “is looking through all available means” to develop a network in Morocco, both to “destabilise the country, but also to more easily attack Europe”, said a report from Mali’s security services, seen by AFP.
Morocco explained that the group it identified planned to carry out attacks on security headquarters and western interests in the country.
“The members of this cell intended to join camps of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) outside Morocco to undergo military training with the aim of returning to the kingdom to carry out criminal acts,” the interior ministry said.
Mali’s intelligence report noted that Morocco had, up to now, successfully thwarted any infiltration by AQIM, but the group is nevertheless resolved to penetrate the kingdom.
A Moroccan security source said the uncovered AQIM cell was “very dangerous”, adding that it was “the first time AQIM is implicated in a planned operation inside Morocco”.
Morocco said the cell called the Al Battar Squadron, “included a former detainee under anti-terrorist legislation, and was headed by one of the most active individuals on jihadist Internet sites with links to the Al Qaeda network”.
“This individual had close relations with terrorist organisations in Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Iraq,” a ministry statement added.
The interior ministry said: “The members of this cell were in constant contact with the leadership of AQIM with the aim of obtaining the weapons necessary for carrying out their criminal project in the country and of coordinating their operations in line with the objectives of this terrorist organisation.”
Mali’s report said that to combat AQIM’s expansionist plans, the region’s security services must boost cooperation, and that “the fight cannot only be left to Algeria”.
The report noted Niger, Nigeria and Chad as countries with whom ties must be strengthened.
“The contacts between Boko Haram of Nigeria and AQIM must lead Mali’s government to diversify its relations and its methods of combat,” the report said.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for an August 26 attack on the United Nations compound in the Nigerian capital Abuja that killed at least 23.
AQIM has organised a series of attacks and kidnappings from its bases in northern Mali, notably against foreigners. Along with Niger and Mauritania, Mali is the country most affected by the group’s activities to date.
On Friday, at least one person died and several others were injured when their car drove over a landmine in a northern Mali forest where AQIM was known to operate, security officials said.
The Rest @ Oman Tribune
RABAT Morocco said on Friday it had broken up a three-man cell with links to Al Qaeda, while Mali’s intelligence officials say the group is seeking to infiltrate into Morocco to facilitate attacks inside Europe.
Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch “is looking through all available means” to develop a network in Morocco, both to “destabilise the country, but also to more easily attack Europe”, said a report from Mali’s security services, seen by AFP.
Morocco explained that the group it identified planned to carry out attacks on security headquarters and western interests in the country.
“The members of this cell intended to join camps of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) outside Morocco to undergo military training with the aim of returning to the kingdom to carry out criminal acts,” the interior ministry said.
Mali’s intelligence report noted that Morocco had, up to now, successfully thwarted any infiltration by AQIM, but the group is nevertheless resolved to penetrate the kingdom.
A Moroccan security source said the uncovered AQIM cell was “very dangerous”, adding that it was “the first time AQIM is implicated in a planned operation inside Morocco”.
Morocco said the cell called the Al Battar Squadron, “included a former detainee under anti-terrorist legislation, and was headed by one of the most active individuals on jihadist Internet sites with links to the Al Qaeda network”.
“This individual had close relations with terrorist organisations in Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Iraq,” a ministry statement added.
The interior ministry said: “The members of this cell were in constant contact with the leadership of AQIM with the aim of obtaining the weapons necessary for carrying out their criminal project in the country and of coordinating their operations in line with the objectives of this terrorist organisation.”
Mali’s report said that to combat AQIM’s expansionist plans, the region’s security services must boost cooperation, and that “the fight cannot only be left to Algeria”.
The report noted Niger, Nigeria and Chad as countries with whom ties must be strengthened.
“The contacts between Boko Haram of Nigeria and AQIM must lead Mali’s government to diversify its relations and its methods of combat,” the report said.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for an August 26 attack on the United Nations compound in the Nigerian capital Abuja that killed at least 23.
AQIM has organised a series of attacks and kidnappings from its bases in northern Mali, notably against foreigners. Along with Niger and Mauritania, Mali is the country most affected by the group’s activities to date.
On Friday, at least one person died and several others were injured when their car drove over a landmine in a northern Mali forest where AQIM was known to operate, security officials said.
The Rest @ Oman Tribune
Friday, September 16, 2011
Kidnapped Areva Officials Still Missing in Niger, Africa 1 year later
NIAMEY — Four Frenchmen held by Al Qaeda's North African franchise on Friday marked a year since their capture, with negotiations for their release complicated by the fallout of the Libyan chaos.
On September 16 last year, seven people were snatched by the radical group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Arlit, a uranium mining town in northern Niger.
Amomg them was a senior employee with the French mining group Areva and his wife. The other five, employed by an Areva subcontractor, included three Frenchmen as well as a Togolese and a Malagasy.
On February 24, the woman and the two Africans were released at a desert spot close to where the borders of Niger, Mali and Algeria meet.
However Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dole, Marc Feret and Pierre Legrand are still being held by AQIM and their families are demanding more tangible efforts to secure their release.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, whose country is also affected by the activities of the Al Qaeda-affiliated group, said earlier this week he thought the hostages were still alive.
"All state agencies have been mobilised since the very first day and are doing everything they can for our compatriots to recover their freedom," the French foreign ministry said Thursday.
"We're in contact with the kidnappers, physically, by phone and through intermediaries," one mediator told AFP recently.
Some sources even predict the hostages could be freed soon.
AQIM does not appear to have modified its demands since it released a video of the hostages "begging" Nicolas Sarkozy to pull his troops out of Afghanistan, something the French president promptly ruled out.
However, France has since announced its intention to withdraw around a quarter of its forces by the end of 2012, a decision believed to have been welcomed by AQIM.
Another of the hostage-takers' demands is the payment of a staggering 90 million euros (125 million dollars), which Paris has also officially rejected.
The situation is fluid in Niger, where two other French nationals were kidnapped in the capital Niamey earlier this year before being executed in Mali.
Areva's expatriate contingent, which had been sent home after last year's kidnapping, however returned to Arlit in July after France and Niger agreed to beef up security.
The new element affecting regional security is the change of regime in Libya, where Western-backed rebels toppled Moamer Kadhafi.
Neighbouring countries and security experts have expressed fears that chaos in Libya would scatter Kadhafi's arsenal across the region and eventually give AQIM access to new and more sophisticated weapons.
"We used to focus mainly on AQIM, now we have to watch everything at the same time," a Nigerien army officer stationed in the north explained.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Younis al-Mauretani is Abd al-Rahman Ould Mohammed Hussein?
The man was nothing less than a phantom. Security officials thought they knew what he looked like: thin with brown curly hair. And they knew more or less what he was planning: attacks in the West on targets that would cripple the economy. They even knew how he liked to spend his free time on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan: on his computer where he was fond of performing economic simulations.
But aside from his nom de guerre, they knew nothing about who he really was. They didn't know when or where he was born, when he joined al-Qaida or even his real name.
Nevertheless, Younis al-Mauretani, the senior al-Qaida leader whose arrest in Pakistan was announced on Monday, has spent much of the last two years in the crosshairs of several secret services around the world. He boasted of having direct contact to Osama bin Laden, and his alias always seemed to be mentioned whenever new plans for al-Qaida attacks in the West surfaced.
A Kind of Sleeper Cell
Officials, though, had little doubt that he was serious. Mauretani seemed keen to recruit jihadists from the West and would even poach them from other jihadist groups in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He instructed his two apprentices from Germany in the use of encryption programs, likely so that they could keep in touch with each other once they had returned home as a kind of sleeper cell.
On Monday, the Pakistani secret service ISI confirmed that they had apprehended Mauretani not far from Quetta, though there are indications that he may have been arrested more than a week ago. Such a delay is not uncommon for the ISI; they often prefer to interrogate prisoners before they admit to having them.
The White House welcomed the arrest as have US diplomats in Pakistan who called it a significant blow against al-Qaida. The operation, which also netted two other al-Qaida operatives, was the result of close cooperation between ISI and the CIA, Pakistani officials said.
It wasn't long after the arrest that details about Younis al-Mauretani began to emerge. The Arab language website of Agence Nouakchott d'Information, the official government news agency in Mauritania, cited well-informed sources as saying that Mauretani's true identity was Abd al-Rahman Ould Mohammed Hussein, who is thought to have been involved in a 2005 attack in the country.
Extensive Similarities
The agency reported that he is also known as al-Hajj Ould Abd al-Qadir or by the nom de guerre Abu Jusuf al-Afghani. The agency published two images on its website, one from a wanted poster for Younis al-Mauretani and another for Ould Mohammed Hussein. Similarities between the two photos were extensive.
In addition, the agency reported that he was one of a number of Mauritanians who had travelled to Afghanistan when it was still under Taliban rule. He is also said to have been a member of the Algerian jihadist group GSPC. Several times, the website reported, Mauritanian officials had tried to locate him, but without success.
The GSPC ultimately spawned the group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). But Mauretani disappeared from one of the group's training camps in northern Mali a few years ago. He is thought to have gone to al-Qaida headquarters on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan where he became a confidant of bin Laden's.
It is difficult to know exactly how reliable the sources of Agence Nouakchott d'Information are, but the website of the television station al-Arabiya also reported Mauretani's true identity as Abd al-Rahman Ould Mohammed Hussein. The website reported that he was 35 years old and comes from the province of Abu Telmit, located 50 kilometers from the capital city Nouakchott.
Could Be Significant
Andrew Lebovich, an expert on North Africa and the AQIM, says that the information which has come out in the last two days could be significant if true because it could cast a new light on the origins of AQIM.
But aside from his nom de guerre, they knew nothing about who he really was. They didn't know when or where he was born, when he joined al-Qaida or even his real name.
Nevertheless, Younis al-Mauretani, the senior al-Qaida leader whose arrest in Pakistan was announced on Monday, has spent much of the last two years in the crosshairs of several secret services around the world. He boasted of having direct contact to Osama bin Laden, and his alias always seemed to be mentioned whenever new plans for al-Qaida attacks in the West surfaced.
- Most of what German security officials know about Mauretani comes from German terror suspects who were arrested in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- Rami M., a radical from Hamburg who was arrested in 2010, and Ahmad S., another Islamist from Hamburg who was picked up by the US in Kabul last summer, had both met Mauretani.
- He told them that bin Laden had allowed him to set up his own cell to organize attacks in the West. But he also said that the operations may not involve "martyrdom" for the perpetrators. It still isn't clear exactly what Mauretani meant.
A Kind of Sleeper Cell
Officials, though, had little doubt that he was serious. Mauretani seemed keen to recruit jihadists from the West and would even poach them from other jihadist groups in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He instructed his two apprentices from Germany in the use of encryption programs, likely so that they could keep in touch with each other once they had returned home as a kind of sleeper cell.
On Monday, the Pakistani secret service ISI confirmed that they had apprehended Mauretani not far from Quetta, though there are indications that he may have been arrested more than a week ago. Such a delay is not uncommon for the ISI; they often prefer to interrogate prisoners before they admit to having them.
The White House welcomed the arrest as have US diplomats in Pakistan who called it a significant blow against al-Qaida. The operation, which also netted two other al-Qaida operatives, was the result of close cooperation between ISI and the CIA, Pakistani officials said.
It wasn't long after the arrest that details about Younis al-Mauretani began to emerge. The Arab language website of Agence Nouakchott d'Information, the official government news agency in Mauritania, cited well-informed sources as saying that Mauretani's true identity was Abd al-Rahman Ould Mohammed Hussein, who is thought to have been involved in a 2005 attack in the country.
Extensive Similarities
The agency reported that he is also known as al-Hajj Ould Abd al-Qadir or by the nom de guerre Abu Jusuf al-Afghani. The agency published two images on its website, one from a wanted poster for Younis al-Mauretani and another for Ould Mohammed Hussein. Similarities between the two photos were extensive.
In addition, the agency reported that he was one of a number of Mauritanians who had travelled to Afghanistan when it was still under Taliban rule. He is also said to have been a member of the Algerian jihadist group GSPC. Several times, the website reported, Mauritanian officials had tried to locate him, but without success.
The GSPC ultimately spawned the group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). But Mauretani disappeared from one of the group's training camps in northern Mali a few years ago. He is thought to have gone to al-Qaida headquarters on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan where he became a confidant of bin Laden's.
It is difficult to know exactly how reliable the sources of Agence Nouakchott d'Information are, but the website of the television station al-Arabiya also reported Mauretani's true identity as Abd al-Rahman Ould Mohammed Hussein. The website reported that he was 35 years old and comes from the province of Abu Telmit, located 50 kilometers from the capital city Nouakchott.
Could Be Significant
Andrew Lebovich, an expert on North Africa and the AQIM, says that the information which has come out in the last two days could be significant if true because it could cast a new light on the origins of AQIM.
"To my knowledge," Lebovich wrote in an e-mail, "the publicly-available history of AQIM has nothing about Mauretani, but instead focuses on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's role as an intermediary and facilitator in the process that led to the GSPC becoming AQIM." Al-Zarqawi was the head of al-Qaida in Iraq at the time and has since been killed.
Lebovich continues: "If al-Mauretani was with the GSPC and then AQ core (eds. note: al-Qaida leadership) after 2005, then there's a real possibility ... that he helped push the organization towards more cooperation with al-Qaida in Iraq and AQ core."
Lebovich continues: "If al-Mauretani was with the GSPC and then AQ core (eds. note: al-Qaida leadership) after 2005, then there's a real possibility ... that he helped push the organization towards more cooperation with al-Qaida in Iraq and AQ core."
Lebovich says it is possible that "he helped negotiate the transition along with Zarqawi; and that he has played a role in facilitating communication between AQIM and AQ core."
Should that be the case, Lebovich writes, then it could also mean "that Mauretani maintained his former GSPC connections after going to AQ core, which could indicate a closer relationship between AQIM and AQ core than experts previously thought."
All of the details which have emerged in Mauritania since the arrest have yet to be confirmed. But they appear consistent with the little that is known about Mauretani -- his nom de guerre after all means "the Mauritanian." In addition, rumors briefly circulated last year that Mauretani had earlier been a member of AQIM, but they could not be confirmed at the time.
What Will He Say?
Some security officials were so unsure who might be behind the name Mauretani that they showed people who claimed to have met him pictures of the al-Qaida operative Abu Jahja al-Libi to be sure that Libi hadn't taken on another alias.
Should that be the case, Lebovich writes, then it could also mean "that Mauretani maintained his former GSPC connections after going to AQ core, which could indicate a closer relationship between AQIM and AQ core than experts previously thought."
All of the details which have emerged in Mauritania since the arrest have yet to be confirmed. But they appear consistent with the little that is known about Mauretani -- his nom de guerre after all means "the Mauritanian." In addition, rumors briefly circulated last year that Mauretani had earlier been a member of AQIM, but they could not be confirmed at the time.
What Will He Say?
Some security officials were so unsure who might be behind the name Mauretani that they showed people who claimed to have met him pictures of the al-Qaida operative Abu Jahja al-Libi to be sure that Libi hadn't taken on another alias.
Just what the consequences of Mauretani's arrest and identification might be remains to be seen. Should the new reports be confirmed, officials are likely to investigate his former network of friends, acquaintances and possible associates in his former homeland in the hopes of tracking down additional al-Qaida members.
More important, however, might be what Mauretani tells his interrogators from ISI, if he talks at all. Indeed, there has so far been no independent confirmation that Mauretani has even been apprehended. Terror suspects have been misidentified before -- particularly those about whom little is known.
The Rest @ The Daily Star
More important, however, might be what Mauretani tells his interrogators from ISI, if he talks at all. Indeed, there has so far been no independent confirmation that Mauretani has even been apprehended. Terror suspects have been misidentified before -- particularly those about whom little is known.
The Rest @ The Daily Star
Friday, September 02, 2011
Nigeria Was Aware of 2007 AQIM - Boko Haram Link
Abuja - Nigeria detained and released several radical Muslims suspected of being terrorists in 2007 - including a man who officials now say helped organise last week's deadly car bombing at the United Nations headquarters in the nation's capital, a high-ranking official told The Associated Press. The men arrested four years ago had allegedly been caught with explosives.
Nigeria remains very sensitive to any suggestion it is a haven for terrorists, and the information released at the time of the arrests was fairly vague. It was not immediately clear if Nigeria shared information about the purported anti-US plots with US officials. The US embassy had no immediate comment on Thursday.
However, in a report on global terror threats, the State Department said diplomats issued a warning to US citizens in 2007 about possible attacks on US and Western interests in Nigeria. It also noted that Nigerian authorities said they arrested at least 10 suspected terrorists in northern Nigeria late that year with alleged ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Hasty sham trials
A former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, who left the country several months before the 2007 arrests, said Pakistanis would have stood out in northern Nigeria. Campbell, who is now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he had no information about arrests of any Pakistanis.
Top security officials in the administration of then-President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim, released the rounded-up men shortly after their arrests, with some facing a few hasty sham trials, the Nigerian official said.
One of those men was Babagana Ismail Kwaljima, also known as Abu Summaya, who was arrested again days before the August 26 bombing at the UN compound in Abuja that killed at least 23 people, the Nigerian official said.
Terror attacks
Secret police spokesperson Marilyn Ogar declined to comment on Thursday.
"They were caught with explosive devices and other ammunitions. Some of them were also caught with large amount of cash," the Nigerian official said.
Responsibility for the August 26 attack on the UN, in which 81 people were wounded, was claimed by a sect known as Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language. The sect, which wants to implement a strict version of Shariah law in the nation, operates in the north and reportedly has links to Aqim and al-Shabaab.
The car used in the UN bombing was registered in the same area of Kano state where the terror suspects had been arrested only four years earlier, the official who spoke to the AP said.
Other problems
- Their rapid release from detention was apparently aimed at placating Muslim groups, but it has now come back to haunt security officials who fear a growing wave of al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks in Nigeria, a main supplier of oil to the United States.
Nigeria remains very sensitive to any suggestion it is a haven for terrorists, and the information released at the time of the arrests was fairly vague. It was not immediately clear if Nigeria shared information about the purported anti-US plots with US officials. The US embassy had no immediate comment on Thursday.
However, in a report on global terror threats, the State Department said diplomats issued a warning to US citizens in 2007 about possible attacks on US and Western interests in Nigeria. It also noted that Nigerian authorities said they arrested at least 10 suspected terrorists in northern Nigeria late that year with alleged ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Hasty sham trials
A former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, who left the country several months before the 2007 arrests, said Pakistanis would have stood out in northern Nigeria. Campbell, who is now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he had no information about arrests of any Pakistanis.
Top security officials in the administration of then-President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim, released the rounded-up men shortly after their arrests, with some facing a few hasty sham trials, the Nigerian official said.
One of those men was Babagana Ismail Kwaljima, also known as Abu Summaya, who was arrested again days before the August 26 bombing at the UN compound in Abuja that killed at least 23 people, the Nigerian official said.
- Kwaljima is accused of helping mastermind the UN bombing.
- A second man was also arrested and
- Police are looking for a third with "al-Qaeda links" who recently travelled in Somalia, where an al-Qaeda-linked group called al-Shabaab is battling the beleaguered UN-backed government.
- The agency previously arrested him in October 2007 in the northern city of Kano during a roundup of suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operating in the country, the official who spoke to AP said.
- Aqim, as the group is known, generally operates in Saharan nations north of Nigeria.
Terror attacks
Secret police spokesperson Marilyn Ogar declined to comment on Thursday.
- Suspected Pakistani members of al-Qaeda were arrested in October 2007 along with members of Aqim, the official said.
- He did not provide numbers of people arrested. News reports that emerged in November 2007 about arrests in the area also did not specify numbers, but identified the men as Nigerians. No foreigners were mentioned.
"They were caught with explosive devices and other ammunitions. Some of them were also caught with large amount of cash," the Nigerian official said.
Responsibility for the August 26 attack on the UN, in which 81 people were wounded, was claimed by a sect known as Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language. The sect, which wants to implement a strict version of Shariah law in the nation, operates in the north and reportedly has links to Aqim and al-Shabaab.
The car used in the UN bombing was registered in the same area of Kano state where the terror suspects had been arrested only four years earlier, the official who spoke to the AP said.
Other problems
- In 2003, Osama bin Laden issued an audio tape calling on Muslims in Nigeria to rise up against one of the "regimes who are slaves of America".
- It wasn't until four years later that strategic links were made between Aqim and Boko Haram, according to Noman Benotman, a former jihadist with links to al-Qaeda and an analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.
- Meanwhile, ties with the Somali militant group seem to have grown stronger.
Some 50 al-Shabaab members were arrested in Nigeria recently for plotting attacks on western targets, Benotman said, citing postings made to jihadist websites. Those arrests were not reported by Nigerian media or announced by security agencies.
Last month, the commander for US military operations in Africa told the AP that Boko Haram may be trying to co-ordinate attacks with al-Shabaab and Aqim
Nigeria's military, police and secretive State Security Service have been unable to stop Boko Haram from waging an increasing bloody sectarian fight against this oil-rich nation's weak central government.
Other problems for Nigeria's intelligence agencies came as it abandoned a US-assisted anti-terrorism programme in late 2007 known as "Focal Point", which saw the Nigerian government set up units in major cities to monitor suspected terrorists, the Nigerian official said.
The units fell apart as agencies stocked them with friends who took advantage of trips, leaving the job of tracking suspects to local police authorities who knew nothing about the cases, the official said.
"Many saw the centres as opportunity for 'their boys' to go on overseas trips and make money," the official said.
Deb MacLean, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Abuja, declined to immediately comment.
Last month, the commander for US military operations in Africa told the AP that Boko Haram may be trying to co-ordinate attacks with al-Shabaab and Aqim
Nigeria's military, police and secretive State Security Service have been unable to stop Boko Haram from waging an increasing bloody sectarian fight against this oil-rich nation's weak central government.
Other problems for Nigeria's intelligence agencies came as it abandoned a US-assisted anti-terrorism programme in late 2007 known as "Focal Point", which saw the Nigerian government set up units in major cities to monitor suspected terrorists, the Nigerian official said.
The units fell apart as agencies stocked them with friends who took advantage of trips, leaving the job of tracking suspects to local police authorities who knew nothing about the cases, the official said.
"Many saw the centres as opportunity for 'their boys' to go on overseas trips and make money," the official said.
Deb MacLean, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Abuja, declined to immediately comment.
Bashir Adigun
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Al Qaeda has Decided to Claim the Arab Spring
AQIM , AQAP , Hamas and al Qaeda leadership seem to have fallen into a decision about what to do about the Arab Spring. They are using the Hezbollah Spin.
in 2000, Israel unilaterally left the occupation of Southern Lebanon in accordance with a UN negotiated agreement. Though they neither defeated Israel nor caused them to withdraw, Hezbollah followed Israeli troops out of Lebanon shouting victory slogans. Anti-Israel (or anti-zionist) factions around the world, desperate for some sort of victory, began to repeat Hezbollah's spin that they themselves had driven Israel out of Lebanon. Hezbollah status and prestige gained from the myth continues to this day.
Today, Al Qaeda affiliates around the world are beginning to take credit for the Arab Spring in their recruiting propganda, claiming that they have "planted the seeds" of the rebellion."
While it's true the al Qaeda created an overall strategy that included dealing with "apostate secular states" like Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, (See 7 Steps) they had been unable to gain any traction in secular states with an Islamic majority population. The Arab Spring was a surprise to the West and Islamist activists alike.
Watch now for other anti-zionists to feed into the newest myth, that The Arab Spring was the fruit of an Islamist idea.
-Shimron Issachar
***************************************
Al-Qaida in North Africa seeks Arab Spring jihad
By ELAINE GANLEY
PARIS (AP) - Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb wants to put its footprint on the Arab Spring now that violence is fueling the uprisings, and in a two-part video is trying to lure new followers for revolt by jihad.
The push comes as the group has sought to expand its operations beyond its Algerian base and desert outposts to countries around Africa, from Nigeria to Libya, after the death of Osama bin Laden and after being sidelined when the Arab revolts erupted earlier this year.
During the mostly peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, the al-Qaida offshoot kept up sporadic attacks on Algerian security forces in its bid to overthrow the government and install an Islamist state. But the world was looking elsewhere.
Now, with Arab uprisings meeting increasingly violent resistance from autocratic regimes in countries such as Libya and Syria, AQIM wants to be seen as an alternative force.
Seeking a peaceful change of leaders is "like giving aspirin to a cancer patient," a member of AQIM's military board, Commander Abu Saeed al-Auresi, says in the lengthy video, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. SITE has made the video available and said it was posted Aug. 3 on jihadist forums.
AQIM has entered a new phase and is no longer on the defensive, says Mathieu Guidere, an expert in strategic monitoring and al-Qaida specialist.
Despite repeated threats, the group has provided no evidence it is capable of striking across the Mediterranean into Europe. But with bin Laden's death, Guidere said, AQIM promised to lead a military and media offensive in the north, south, east and west of the African continent.
And, he argues, that is happening, with stepped up attacks on soldiers in Algeria - the north - in Mauritania - the west - as well as in Libya - the east - where the movement allegedly sent a "minimal" number of fighters.
To the south, AQIM offered training, men and weapons in January 2010 to a feared Islamist sect in Nigeria called Boko Haram, the local Hausa language for "Western education is sacrilege," according to an AQIM statement provided by SITE. It was signed by AQIM's leader, Abelmalek Droukdel, using his nom de guerre Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, who evoked "the duty to support Muslims everywhere."
Boko Haram has significantly raised its profile since the offer with numerous deadly attacks.
There is no sign of a formal AQIM partnership with Boko Haram. British authorities said this month they were investigating a video claiming an unspecified al-Qaida group was holding a Briton and Italian man kidnapped in Nigeria in May.
AQIM stepped up deadly attacks in Algeria in spring and registered more attacks in July than any time this year, according to Guidere. He counts attacks throughout AQIM territory, including in the desert Sahel region south of Algeria - which crosses Mauritania, Niger and Mali, where hostage-taking is a main source of revenue. Four French hostages, captured in September 2010 in Niger, are still being held, possibly in Mali.
For Guidere, AQIM has found a new legitimacy that it had lost at the start of the then-peaceful Arab Spring. Its message is that people can demonstrate in vain against dictators or choose jihad.
"For me, this video is a turning point in the (AQIM) propaganda," Guidere said, because it is looking for a new way to reach the people.
"AQIM is an elitist organization that believes it is chosen by God," he said, adding that it always presented its heroes as "exceptional." Now, "they want to mix the images of popular revolution and AQIM to show that they are the same."
Part I of the nearly two-hour propaganda film shows protest rallies throughout the Arab world. It includes contrasting footage of various Arab leaders in clubby poses, from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika kissing Egypt's now-deposed leader Hosni Mubarak to former French President Jacques Chirac shaking hands with the ousted Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Part II addresses efforts by the United States, France and Algeria to counter AQIM in the lawless Sahel region, but contrasts that with a deadly July 4, 2009 raid by AQIM's southern arm in Mali that killed 29 soldiers.
For senior SITE analyst Adam Raisman, it is less the message than the medium - a video - that is a departure from previous AQIM propaganda. Audio messages supported the Tunisians as January protests forced their strong-armed leader to flee into exile.
In what could be another part of AQIM's bid to appeal to new recruits, the video shows AQIM leader Droukdel taking part in what is claimed to be an April 15 attack on an Algerian army outpost - carried out as the Algerian president gave a speech announcing constitutional and electoral reforms to calm daily demonstrations around the country. The attack near the town of Azazga, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Algiers in the mountainous Kabyle region - an AQIM stronghold - left 13 soldiers dead.
It is rare to see an al-Qaida branch leader fighting alongside his men, Raisman said.
Members of jihadist forums "were exhilarated to see him participating in battle, leading the charge," Raisman said. "He's firing his gun, he's hiding behind a rock, he's talking on a walkie-talkie, issuing orders. He's defiant."
Often graying, aging fighters shown in the Arabic-language videos are filmed on their sorties through the craggy forested hills of Algeria's Kabyle region or in the Mali desert, accompanied in the videos by taped songs. As in other AQIM propaganda videos, the viewer is not spared the bloody bodies of attack victims and booty taken from the corpses, displayed and recorded almost tenderly by the camera.
The video by AQIM's media arm is titled "Assault Them Through the Gate, For When You Are In, Victory Will be Yours." Using a Quranic reference, AQIM pleads for frontal action, not peaceful uprisings, to bring change. A photo of bin Laden, and scenes of him walking in rugged terrain, punctuate the videos.
The North African al-Qaida affiliate was born in late 2006 out of the last remaining Algerian insurgency movement still organized enough to do harm, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat. Pledging its allegiance to bin Laden's operation provided new dynamism for an increasingly battered insurgency movement.
Today, AQIM, like other al-Qaida arms, claims it set the spark for the uprisings around the Arab world.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PARIS (AP) - Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb wants to put its footprint on the Arab Spring now that violence is fueling the uprisings, and in a two-part video is trying to lure new followers for revolt by jihad.
The push comes as the group has sought to expand its operations beyond its Algerian base and desert outposts to countries around Africa, from Nigeria to Libya, after the death of Osama bin Laden and after being sidelined when the Arab revolts erupted earlier this year.
During the mostly peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, the al-Qaida offshoot kept up sporadic attacks on Algerian security forces in its bid to overthrow the government and install an Islamist state. But the world was looking elsewhere.
Now, with Arab uprisings meeting increasingly violent resistance from autocratic regimes in countries such as Libya and Syria, AQIM wants to be seen as an alternative force.
Seeking a peaceful change of leaders is "like giving aspirin to a cancer patient," a member of AQIM's military board, Commander Abu Saeed al-Auresi, says in the lengthy video, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. SITE has made the video available and said it was posted Aug. 3 on jihadist forums.
AQIM has entered a new phase and is no longer on the defensive, says Mathieu Guidere, an expert in strategic monitoring and al-Qaida specialist.
Despite repeated threats, the group has provided no evidence it is capable of striking across the Mediterranean into Europe. But with bin Laden's death, Guidere said, AQIM promised to lead a military and media offensive in the north, south, east and west of the African continent.
And, he argues, that is happening, with stepped up attacks on soldiers in Algeria - the north - in Mauritania - the west - as well as in Libya - the east - where the movement allegedly sent a "minimal" number of fighters.
To the south, AQIM offered training, men and weapons in January 2010 to a feared Islamist sect in Nigeria called Boko Haram, the local Hausa language for "Western education is sacrilege," according to an AQIM statement provided by SITE. It was signed by AQIM's leader, Abelmalek Droukdel, using his nom de guerre Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, who evoked "the duty to support Muslims everywhere."
Boko Haram has significantly raised its profile since the offer with numerous deadly attacks.
There is no sign of a formal AQIM partnership with Boko Haram. British authorities said this month they were investigating a video claiming an unspecified al-Qaida group was holding a Briton and Italian man kidnapped in Nigeria in May.
AQIM stepped up deadly attacks in Algeria in spring and registered more attacks in July than any time this year, according to Guidere. He counts attacks throughout AQIM territory, including in the desert Sahel region south of Algeria - which crosses Mauritania, Niger and Mali, where hostage-taking is a main source of revenue. Four French hostages, captured in September 2010 in Niger, are still being held, possibly in Mali.
For Guidere, AQIM has found a new legitimacy that it had lost at the start of the then-peaceful Arab Spring. Its message is that people can demonstrate in vain against dictators or choose jihad.
"For me, this video is a turning point in the (AQIM) propaganda," Guidere said, because it is looking for a new way to reach the people.
"AQIM is an elitist organization that believes it is chosen by God," he said, adding that it always presented its heroes as "exceptional." Now, "they want to mix the images of popular revolution and AQIM to show that they are the same."
Part I of the nearly two-hour propaganda film shows protest rallies throughout the Arab world. It includes contrasting footage of various Arab leaders in clubby poses, from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika kissing Egypt's now-deposed leader Hosni Mubarak to former French President Jacques Chirac shaking hands with the ousted Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Part II addresses efforts by the United States, France and Algeria to counter AQIM in the lawless Sahel region, but contrasts that with a deadly July 4, 2009 raid by AQIM's southern arm in Mali that killed 29 soldiers.
For senior SITE analyst Adam Raisman, it is less the message than the medium - a video - that is a departure from previous AQIM propaganda. Audio messages supported the Tunisians as January protests forced their strong-armed leader to flee into exile.
In what could be another part of AQIM's bid to appeal to new recruits, the video shows AQIM leader Droukdel taking part in what is claimed to be an April 15 attack on an Algerian army outpost - carried out as the Algerian president gave a speech announcing constitutional and electoral reforms to calm daily demonstrations around the country. The attack near the town of Azazga, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Algiers in the mountainous Kabyle region - an AQIM stronghold - left 13 soldiers dead.
It is rare to see an al-Qaida branch leader fighting alongside his men, Raisman said.
Members of jihadist forums "were exhilarated to see him participating in battle, leading the charge," Raisman said. "He's firing his gun, he's hiding behind a rock, he's talking on a walkie-talkie, issuing orders. He's defiant."
Often graying, aging fighters shown in the Arabic-language videos are filmed on their sorties through the craggy forested hills of Algeria's Kabyle region or in the Mali desert, accompanied in the videos by taped songs. As in other AQIM propaganda videos, the viewer is not spared the bloody bodies of attack victims and booty taken from the corpses, displayed and recorded almost tenderly by the camera.
The video by AQIM's media arm is titled "Assault Them Through the Gate, For When You Are In, Victory Will be Yours." Using a Quranic reference, AQIM pleads for frontal action, not peaceful uprisings, to bring change. A photo of bin Laden, and scenes of him walking in rugged terrain, punctuate the videos.
The North African al-Qaida affiliate was born in late 2006 out of the last remaining Algerian insurgency movement still organized enough to do harm, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat. Pledging its allegiance to bin Laden's operation provided new dynamism for an increasingly battered insurgency movement.
Today, AQIM, like other al-Qaida arms, claims it set the spark for the uprisings around the Arab world.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, August 29, 2011
AQIM Car Bomb in Chercell, Near Algiers
A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives outside a military academy west of the Algerian capital on Friday (August 27th, 2011), killing at least 18 people.
At least 20 were wounded at the academy in Cherchell, which lies west of Algiers. The death toll was expected to rise, according to the Sidi Ghilas hospital where the victims were taken.
At least 20 were wounded at the academy in Cherchell, which lies west of Algiers. The death toll was expected to rise, according to the Sidi Ghilas hospital where the victims were taken.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy, gave conflicting tolls, and it was not clear whether those killed were troops or civilians.Friday was a sacred day in the Muslim calendar that falls toward the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and it is often accompanied by attacks. Although no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, similar assaults have been blamed on al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
Islamist extremists have battled Algerian security forces since 1992 when the army cancelled a national election that a now-banned Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win.
Security forces gained the upper hand over the years, but sporadic attacks continue and increased dramatically in July. An estimated 200,000 people civilians, insurgents and security forces have been killed since the violence began.
Islamist extremists have battled Algerian security forces since 1992 when the army cancelled a national election that a now-banned Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win.
Security forces gained the upper hand over the years, but sporadic attacks continue and increased dramatically in July. An estimated 200,000 people civilians, insurgents and security forces have been killed since the violence began.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Al Qaeda in North Africa After Bin Laden
Posted at Vimeo 2 MOnth ago.
TERRORISM IN NORTH AFRICA AFTER BIN LADEN: CHALLENGES FOR US POLICY from ASMEA on Vimeo.
Monday, August 08, 2011
AQIM with About a ton of Libyan Semtex
AQIM: how to protect Algeria suicide bomber 05/08/2011 at 09h: 30
The safety device has been strengthened in Algiers. Bomb attacks against convoys of the army, suicide ...
For three months, there has been an upsurge in terrorist violence. Trafficking of arms from Libya are not strangers and authorities feared the worst during Ramadan. Algeria is under surveillance ...
On the eve of Ramadan, the month in which the jihadists of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) mission is to increase the coup, Abu Musab Abdelwadoud - Abdelmalek Droukdel real name - national emir of terrorist organization, confirmed that the group recovered nearly a ton of Semtex from Libya arsenals in June.
July 16, in fact, a double suicide bombing targeted the police station in Bordj Ménaïl, 60 km east of Algiers. Result: two dead, including a civilian, and a dozen injured. Nine days later, Thénia in Kabylia, an Atos - a low-end car manufacturer Hyundai South Korean popular in Algeria - is intercepted at a roadblock. On board, three suicide bombers, including Abdelqahar Benhadj (see box below).
When police ordered him to stop, the driver refused and darkens. One of the gendarmes draws and fires a single bullet. The vehicle exploded. The violence of the explosion is such that a police source estimated that the three men were carrying several hundred kilograms of explosives. Were they in Algiers to commit their crimes? "Not likely, said a police superintendent. The terrorists know they have no chance with el-fnek. "
The "Fennec", an explosive detector about the size of a remote control, with an antenna, powers all the barriers controlling access to capital. "Since we have this equipment, acquired in 2008 from a U.S. firm, or any car bomb containing explosives could not enter Algiers, said the Commissioner. This is why suicide bombers avoid the city, but it's not like they lack. "In fact, the last suicide bomber that hit the capital was in December 2007.
A jihadist drove his truck against the UN headquarters on the heights of Algiers, killing 67 people including 10 UN employees. Since then, this type of attack focuses on Kabylia, which houses the headquarters of maquis Abdelmalek Droukdel. "It is much easier to secure the capital by building barriers around the Kabylie filter with its dense road network," said a senior officer (since June, a presidential decree has placed all of the forces responsible for the fight terrorism under the command of the army). The fact remains that the safety was further strengthened in Algiers . The increased activity of AQIM is not limited to suicide attacks, the organization conducts operations knuckle-fist against the police. "Since mid-April, we lost about fifty soldiers, police and gendarmes, said the officer.
The Rest @ GrendelReport
The safety device has been strengthened in Algiers. Bomb attacks against convoys of the army, suicide ...
For three months, there has been an upsurge in terrorist violence. Trafficking of arms from Libya are not strangers and authorities feared the worst during Ramadan. Algeria is under surveillance ...
On the eve of Ramadan, the month in which the jihadists of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) mission is to increase the coup, Abu Musab Abdelwadoud - Abdelmalek Droukdel real name - national emir of terrorist organization, confirmed that the group recovered nearly a ton of Semtex from Libya arsenals in June.
July 16, in fact, a double suicide bombing targeted the police station in Bordj Ménaïl, 60 km east of Algiers. Result: two dead, including a civilian, and a dozen injured. Nine days later, Thénia in Kabylia, an Atos - a low-end car manufacturer Hyundai South Korean popular in Algeria - is intercepted at a roadblock. On board, three suicide bombers, including Abdelqahar Benhadj (see box below).
When police ordered him to stop, the driver refused and darkens. One of the gendarmes draws and fires a single bullet. The vehicle exploded. The violence of the explosion is such that a police source estimated that the three men were carrying several hundred kilograms of explosives. Were they in Algiers to commit their crimes? "Not likely, said a police superintendent. The terrorists know they have no chance with el-fnek. "
The "Fennec", an explosive detector about the size of a remote control, with an antenna, powers all the barriers controlling access to capital. "Since we have this equipment, acquired in 2008 from a U.S. firm, or any car bomb containing explosives could not enter Algiers, said the Commissioner. This is why suicide bombers avoid the city, but it's not like they lack. "In fact, the last suicide bomber that hit the capital was in December 2007.
A jihadist drove his truck against the UN headquarters on the heights of Algiers, killing 67 people including 10 UN employees. Since then, this type of attack focuses on Kabylia, which houses the headquarters of maquis Abdelmalek Droukdel. "It is much easier to secure the capital by building barriers around the Kabylie filter with its dense road network," said a senior officer (since June, a presidential decree has placed all of the forces responsible for the fight terrorism under the command of the army). The fact remains that the safety was further strengthened in Algiers . The increased activity of AQIM is not limited to suicide attacks, the organization conducts operations knuckle-fist against the police. "Since mid-April, we lost about fifty soldiers, police and gendarmes, said the officer.
The Rest @ GrendelReport
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Niger Travel Warnings Reissued by the US
August 05, 2011
The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Niger, and urges extreme caution due to increased kidnapping threats against Westerners. This replaces the Travel Warning for Niger dated January 12, to update information on security concerns, registering with the U.S. Embassy, and access to current security information.
Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist group, continues its attempts to kidnap Westerners in Niger, including U.S. citizens, and has been successful in kidnapping Europeans in the region.
The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Niger, and urges extreme caution due to increased kidnapping threats against Westerners. This replaces the Travel Warning for Niger dated January 12, to update information on security concerns, registering with the U.S. Embassy, and access to current security information.
Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist group, continues its attempts to kidnap Westerners in Niger, including U.S. citizens, and has been successful in kidnapping Europeans in the region.
- On January 7, two French nationals were kidnapped in the capital city of Niamey. They were found dead less than 24 hours later following a rescue attempt by French and Nigerien military forces.
- In September 2010, seven people, including five French citizens, a Togolese national, and a Malagasy citizen, were kidnapped by AQIM from the northern mining town of Arlit.
- Four French citizens are still being held hostage by AQIM.
- In April 2010, a French citizen and his Algerian driver were kidnapped. The Algerian was freed. AQIM claimed to have killed the French citizen in retaliation for the July attempted rescue operation conducted by Mauritanian and French military forces.
- In November 2009, heavily armed individuals attempted to kidnap U.S. Embassy officials in Tahoua.
The U.S. Embassy also continues to evaluate proposed travel, as well as both official and personal activities, on a case-by-case basis in light of the current security situation. The U.S. Embassy urges all U.S. citizens in Niger to maintain extremely high vigilance.
As a result of safety and security concerns, some organizations, including foreign companies, NGOs, and private aid organizations, have temporarily suspended operations in Niger or withdrawn some family members and/or staff.
Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped U.S. citizens, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to kidnappers.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey strongly encourages U.S. citizens who travel to or remain in Niger despite this Travel Warning to enroll in Smart Travel Enrollment Program (STEP) so you can receive the most up-to-date security information. You should remember to keep current all of your information in STEP, including your phone number and the email address where you can be reached in case of an emergency.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey is located on Rue des Ambassades. The Embassy’s telephone number is (227) 20-72-26-61. You can contact the Embassy after-hours for emergencies at telephone: (227) 20-72-31-41. Click here to visit the Embassy website.
U.S. citizens should consult the Department of State’s website for the Country Specific Information for Niger and the Worldwide Caution. Up-to-date information on safety and security is available toll-free at 1-888-407-4747 from within the United States and Canada, or at regular toll rates at 1-202-501-4444 for callers from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays).
As a result of safety and security concerns, some organizations, including foreign companies, NGOs, and private aid organizations, have temporarily suspended operations in Niger or withdrawn some family members and/or staff.
Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped U.S. citizens, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to kidnappers.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey strongly encourages U.S. citizens who travel to or remain in Niger despite this Travel Warning to enroll in Smart Travel Enrollment Program (STEP) so you can receive the most up-to-date security information. You should remember to keep current all of your information in STEP, including your phone number and the email address where you can be reached in case of an emergency.
The U.S. Embassy in Niamey is located on Rue des Ambassades. The Embassy’s telephone number is (227) 20-72-26-61. You can contact the Embassy after-hours for emergencies at telephone: (227) 20-72-31-41. Click here to visit the Embassy website.
U.S. citizens should consult the Department of State’s website for the Country Specific Information for Niger and the Worldwide Caution. Up-to-date information on safety and security is available toll-free at 1-888-407-4747 from within the United States and Canada, or at regular toll rates at 1-202-501-4444 for callers from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays).
Friday, August 05, 2011
AQIM's Abdelkahar Belhadj Killed in ROute to Car Bombing in ALgeria
ALGIERS: Algerian security forces killed a top member of an Al-Qaeda regional offshoot and two accomplices who were trying to reach Algiers aboard a car laden with explosives, a government official said Thursday.
The official said Abdelkahar Belhadj, son of former Islamic leader Ali Belhadj, was killed Monday as he was heading for the capital Algiers with a small group of Islamic extremists and that they were plotting a bomb attack.
Belhadj, born in 1988, joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in 2006 and took the battle name of “Mouawia,” in tribute to one of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad.
Belhadj’s father had been deputy leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), whose armed wing tried to overthrow the government in a bloody civil war from 1992 to the early 2000s.
The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Belhadj was “riding a grey Hyundai Atos” with two other people, one of whom was wearing a belt of explosives.
The Islamists clashed with security forces who tried to force them to stop and shot at their car, which exploded, a source in the security forces told AFP. “Three soldiers were wounded.”
“It’s confirmed. It is the son of Ali Belhadj who has been killed. There has been DNA identification of the body” of Abdelkahar Belhadj, the government source said.
But Abdelkahar’s uncle Abdelhamid Belhadj, saying he was a spokesman for Ali Belhadj, told AFP: “We are unaware of reports that he is dead.”
“The security forces already told us that they would let us know in the event of his death,” he added.
“We have had no phone calls from the security forces.”
The daily Ennahar, quoting reliable sources, Wednesday reported the death of the man, during a bloody incident about 60 kilometers east of the capital.
Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan next month, security forces have been stepping up security around the country. Ennahar’s security expert Mohammad Mokaddem said “several attacks have been foiled and at least 15 terrorists plotting attacks have been arrested recently.”
A spectacular suicide bombing raid on July 16 which targeted a police station in Bordj Menaiel which was claimed by AQIM, claimed two lives and left 14 people injured.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Jul-29/Top-AQIM-member-killed-in-Algeria-government-official.ashx#ixzz1U9g5eSAM
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
The official said Abdelkahar Belhadj, son of former Islamic leader Ali Belhadj, was killed Monday as he was heading for the capital Algiers with a small group of Islamic extremists and that they were plotting a bomb attack.
Belhadj, born in 1988, joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in 2006 and took the battle name of “Mouawia,” in tribute to one of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad.
Belhadj’s father had been deputy leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), whose armed wing tried to overthrow the government in a bloody civil war from 1992 to the early 2000s.
The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Belhadj was “riding a grey Hyundai Atos” with two other people, one of whom was wearing a belt of explosives.
The Islamists clashed with security forces who tried to force them to stop and shot at their car, which exploded, a source in the security forces told AFP. “Three soldiers were wounded.”
“It’s confirmed. It is the son of Ali Belhadj who has been killed. There has been DNA identification of the body” of Abdelkahar Belhadj, the government source said.
But Abdelkahar’s uncle Abdelhamid Belhadj, saying he was a spokesman for Ali Belhadj, told AFP: “We are unaware of reports that he is dead.”
“The security forces already told us that they would let us know in the event of his death,” he added.
“We have had no phone calls from the security forces.”
The daily Ennahar, quoting reliable sources, Wednesday reported the death of the man, during a bloody incident about 60 kilometers east of the capital.
Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan next month, security forces have been stepping up security around the country. Ennahar’s security expert Mohammad Mokaddem said “several attacks have been foiled and at least 15 terrorists plotting attacks have been arrested recently.”
A spectacular suicide bombing raid on July 16 which targeted a police station in Bordj Menaiel which was claimed by AQIM, claimed two lives and left 14 people injured.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Jul-29/Top-AQIM-member-killed-in-Algeria-government-official.ashx#ixzz1U9g5eSAM
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
AQIM Near Bouamza missed their food July 26, 2011
ALGIERS — A suicide bomber blew himself up to avoid arrest in the eastern Algerian town of Bouhamza, causing no other casualties, newspapers reported Wednesday.
According to El Watan's online edition, the suspect set off an explosives belt he was wearing when local security encircled him as he left a shop after buying large quantities of food on Tuesday.
Security was subsequently beefed up around the town, located around 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of the capital Algiers, the daily said on its website.
It was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a Saharan offshoot of the global extremist network which is active in an area nearly the size of Australia and also affecting Mauritania, Mali and Niger.
The newspaper said DNA testing revealed him as Abdelkahar Belhadj, born in 1988 and a member of AQIM since 2009 under the nom de guerre Mouawia.
The vehicle they were travelling in was packed with explosives they intended to use for a suicide bombing in central Algiers during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
According to El Watan's online edition, the suspect set off an explosives belt he was wearing when local security encircled him as he left a shop after buying large quantities of food on Tuesday.
Security was subsequently beefed up around the town, located around 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of the capital Algiers, the daily said on its website.
- On Monday, three suspects, including two would-be suicide bombers, were killed by Algerian security forces around 60 kilometres (36 miles) east of Algiers following a tip-off.
It was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a Saharan offshoot of the global extremist network which is active in an area nearly the size of Australia and also affecting Mauritania, Mali and Niger.
According to the Ennahar daily's website, one of the suspects killed on Monday was the son of Ali Belhadj, the influential former number two of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS).
The newspaper said DNA testing revealed him as Abdelkahar Belhadj, born in 1988 and a member of AQIM since 2009 under the nom de guerre Mouawia.
The vehicle they were travelling in was packed with explosives they intended to use for a suicide bombing in central Algiers during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
When his son disappeared in 2006, Ali Belhadj had accused the security services of abducting him, an allegation the government had firmly denied.
His death was announced in the local press several times since but never confirmed and he was sentenced to death in absentia by an Algerian court in 2009 for a string of deadly attacks.
Ali Belhadj could not be reached to confirm reports of his son's death.
Ali Belhadj could not be reached to confirm reports of his son's death.
Ali Belhadj co-founded FIS with Abassi Madani and was jailed when the military called off a 1991 election after his party won the first round.
He was jailed again in 2005 and released in 2006 as part of a reconciliation drive by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Four AQIM Leaders
I came across this 2008 list:
AKAs: Salah Abu Muhamad; Salah Abu Mohamed; Abou Mohamed Salah; Bounouadher
DOB: l3 April l97l
POB: Zeribet El Oued, Wilaya (province) of Biskra, Algeria
Mother’s name: Yamina Soltane
Father’s name: Abdelaziz
Gasmi is the head of AQIM's information committee and is responsible for developing statements, circulating claims of responsibility for terrorist activities, and creating videos for AQIM.
As AQIM's representative to the media, Gasmi issued AQIM's claim of responsibility for its kidnapping of the Austrian hostages. Gasmi is one of the principal figures negotiating with the Austrian government for the release of the hostages. He represents AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel's interests in the negotiations. Gasmi also directs AQIM's internet communications with al-Qa’ida senior leadership.
YAHIA DJOUADI
AKAs: Yahia Abu Amar; Yahia Abou Ammar; Abou Ala; Abu Ala; Abou Alam
DOB: 1 January 1967
POB: M’Hamid, Wilaya (province) of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria
Mother’s name: Zohra Fares
Father’s name: Mohamed
Djouadi is based in northern Mali and serves as the leader of AQIM in Africa's Sahara-Sahel region (also known as the AQIM South Zone). He is responsible for managing AQIM members in the South Zone and was actively recruiting Mauritanians as of early 2008.
Djouadi provided financial and operational support to a Moroccan AQIM-affiliated extremist who planned to establish an AQIM support base in North Africa. Djouadi headed the AQIM military committee prior to his appointment as AQIM South Zone Emir.
AHMED DEGHDEGH
AKAs: Abd Al Illah; Abd El Illah; Abu Abdallah
DOB: 17 January 1967
POB: Anser, Wilaya (province) of Jijel, Algeria
Mother’s name: Zakia Chebira
Father’s name: Lakhdar
Deghdegh is AQIM's finance chief. Deghdegh has relayed AQIM messages in ongoing hostage negotiations; as AQIM's designated negotiator, Deghdegh communicated stipulations for the release of the hostages and issued ransom demands.
ABID HAMMADOU
AKAs: Abid Hamadu; Abou Abdellah; Abdelhamid Abu Zeid; Abdelhamid Abou Zeid; Youcef Adel; Abu Abdellah
DOB: 12 December 1965
POB: Touggourt, Wilaya (province) of Ouargla, Algeria
Mother’s name: Fatma Hammadou
Father’s name: Benabes
Hammadou is the deputy leader of AQIM's Tarek Ibn Zaid battalion and is based in northern Mali. In 2003, Hammadou participated in the kidnapping of 32 foreign tourists in Algeria by the GSPC, AQIM's predecessor organization. Hammadou was appointed by regional AQIM leader al-Para to lead the Tarek Ibn Zaid battalion, which carried out the kidnapping (El Para, AKA Saifi Ammari, was named an SDGT on December 5, 2003). Hammadou and other members of the battalion received part of the ransom paid to liberate the tourists and allegedly used the funds to purchase weapons. In June 2005, Hammadou led a unit of AQIM operatives in an attack on a Mauritanian military outpost that killed fifteen soldiers and wounded at least another fifteen. Hammadou established a camp for AQIM recruits in northern Mali that included training in combat techniques, making and defusing bombs, and guerilla tactics.Hammadou was involved in kidnapping the Austrian tourists for AQIM in February 2008.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
More on the AQIM Aquisition of Libya Weapons
The uprising of Libyan rebels against Muammar al-Gaddafi’s rule has led to some unwanted consequences: Al Qaeda-linked militants across North Africa have been benefiting from the lack of control over the Libyan Army’s hardware depots. This will present challenges to regional security for years to come.
It was a Sunday just before mid-June in the desert of Northern Niger. A convoy of three Toyota 4x4s had just entered the sleepy desert town of Ourarene, about 80 kilometres north of Arlit, a regional uranium mining centre essentially run by the French company Areva. All three vehicles, containing only one driver each, came to a stop in the almost unbearable desert heat.
Map of the border region between Libya, Algeria and Niger - Google Earth/io magazine
Then the shooting started.
- Hidden at some distance, a patrol of Niger’s Presidential Guard opened fire at the Toyotas with heavy machine guns and automatic rifles.
- One of the vehicles immediately got hit, while the drivers grabbed their weapons and fired back.
- Soon, the men belonging to the undamaged cars jumped in, shifted into reverse gear, swerved around and made a full-throttle dash amidst the sound of rattling automatic gun fire, incoming bullets whizzing by and clouds of desert dust popping up, according to accounts assembled by French and local media, citing witnesses and security sources.
- One soldier was fatally wounded in the exchange, six others injured.
- The security forces on site quickly called for reinforcements from the regular army, the Presidential Guard and the Gendarmerie.
- Helicopters were launched from Arlit, and a small surveillance aircraft soon arrived in the airspace over Ourarene, scanning the surroundings for the two 4x4s that had escaped the initial attack.
- When soldiers approached the smoking wreck of the Toyota they had hit first, they found the driver shot dead. It did not take them long to discover hints at the identity of the dead man: He was a ‘Barbu’, or ‘bearded one’, a regional synonym for Islamists of Arab origin.
- In the back of the 4×4, the presidential guards found no less than 640 kilograms of military-grade ‘Semtex’ plastic explosives, neatly packed into 40 boxes of 16 kilograms each.
- Dozens of Czech-made detonators, several military uniforms, various documents and 90,000 US Dollars in cash were also stashed in the car. The explosives and the detonators were clearly labelled – ‘Libya’.
Semtex plastic explosives, of which more than half a ton was recently smuggled from Libya - Wikipedia/US Government
- It took the thin-stretched Nigerien authorities three more days, until 15 June, to locate the remaining two cars.
- One had been abandoned about 40 kilometres north of Agadez, with more than 80,000 inhabitants the largest city in Northern Niger.
Abta Hamaidi Mohammed, a shadowy Nigerien weapons trafficker and former government adviser, surrendered to the authorities in Agadez.
Sources close to the investigation claim that Mohammed was piloting one of the Toyotas, and that he was ‘guiding’ the convoy through the desert.
The catch in Niger’s desert in June highlights some of the unwanted fallout that the Libyan uprising has had across North Africa. Not long after Libyan rebels took up protest banners and arms in February, Western and African security experts pointed to the uneasy ramifications the situation could have. As ragtag rebel forces drove the Libyan Army out of the country’s East, ammunition depots were abandoned by their guards and left to looters.
A whole range of people took advantage of the security vacuum: Pro-Western rebels, bandits, and of course some Jihadis and their sympathisers, who have a traditionally strong support base in and around the ‘rebel capital’ Benghazi. This way, weapons ranging from heavy machine guns to anti-aircraft guns to ‘SAM-7’ portable anti-aircraft missile launchers have most likely found their way into the arsenal of ‘Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’ (AQIM).
AQIM is the new name of the Algeria-based ‘Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat’ (GSPC, or ‘Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat’) which was re-branded as an Al Qaeda affiliate in early 2007. At the time, the GSPC had been under heavy pressure from authorities, its strength was dwindling. The move was intended to open up new sources of funding from pro-jihadi donors in the Gulf region and elsewhere, and to attract badly needed recruits.
However, the re-branding was perceived as controversial amongst the group’s leadership and their rank and file. Despite the occasional attack in its homeland Algeria and some kidnappings of Westerners across the Sahara plains, AQIM basically remained stuck with their backs to the wall. Membership was going down to merely 300 by some accounts, as the group was struggling to get their hands on explosives and was in need of cash and weapons. That was until earlier this year; the Libyan uprising has unintentionally provided the Al Qaeda-linked extremists with a new perspective, putting yet more stress on the already shaky regional security situation.
The discovery and disabling of the weapons convoy in Niger in mid-June again shows the collaboration with regional nomadic tribes that the GSPC and later AQIM have long relied on. The place where the three Toyotas were fired upon by Nigerien soldiers, Ourarene, lies deep within Touareg territory, situated well away from routes that are normally used by overland traffic. But the case also demonstrates that even such clandestine convoys are not immune from detection.
In fact, as Nigerien security officials contend, ‘human intelligence’ about the convoy was picked up well before the vehicles actually entered Niger. According to a tip-off, two Toyotas packed with explosives and other weapons passed the city of Sebah in south-west Libya in early June. Instead of heading directly south to the border with Niger, the cars first drove west into Algeria. There, the 4x4s turned left towards the Hoggar, a region characterised by a bizarre rock landscape, scarcely inhabited by Touareg nomads.
Sometime between 08 and 10 June, the two Toyotas crossed from Algeria into Niger, where they linked up with a third vehicle – most likely the one with weapons trafficker Abta Mohammed at the steering wheel. At this stage, the convoy was almost doomed. Phone calls made by the passengers were tapped and their movements tracked until the convoy was raided on 12 June in Ourarene.
Despite the counterterrorism success in June, security services in the West look upon the newly energised weapons flows in North Africa with great concern. In the past few months, similar weapons convoys have been reported heading to Mali and even into Senegal. Untold amounts of explosives have entered the black market in the region since the advent of the ‘Libyan spring’. Not least, the potential terrorist threat against civilian and other aircraft by portable air defence weapons, not just in Africa, is rising again after decades of laborious counter-proliferation efforts. Whatever the outcome of the Libyan rebellion, regional security will remain affected by the unintended consequences for years to come.
The Rest @ at I-O- Magazine
Ahmed Hussein Mahamud Pleads Not Guilty in Minnesota Mujahadeen Case
A Somali-American accused of providing money and people to al-Shabab has pleaded not guilty to terror charges. Twenty-six-year-old Ahmed Hussein Mahamud entered the plea July 21 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. He faces four counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Mahamud had recently moved from Minnesota to Ohio to get married. He's been ...
TheRest@Minnesota Lawyer
TheRest@Minnesota Lawyer
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