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Bamako: Italian hostage Maria Sandra Mariani, kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in February, is shown alive in a video given to negotiators in Bamako.
The 53-year-old Mariani does not speak in the video, but is shown wearing a veil and pink robes, sitting on the sand with her hands crossed. Three guns are visible behind her, but the men holding them are concealed.
A source close to the mediation who was in possession of the video said it had been given to "mediators in a country neighbouring Mali", without divulging the date or place where it was filmed.
"Negotiations are on the right path for Mariani to be freed," he added, saying a ransom payment was at the centre of the talks.
In May, sources close to the case said a first video had been released, showing the hostage was safe and sound.
"It is the same person, but she doesn’t have the same clothes or posture in the two videos," said a Malian source who saw both videos.
Mariani was kidnapped in southeastern Algeria near the town of Djanet on February 02. On February 18 she said she was alive and in the hands of AQIM in a voice recording broadcast by Dubai-based television station Al-Arabiya.
Corroborating sources say she is being held by an AQIM unit led by Abou Zeid, a leader of the organisation renowned for his brutality.
He is held responsible for several kidnappings including Briton Edwyn Dyer who was executed in June 2009 and that of five French, a Madagascan and a Togolese kidnapped in northern Niger in September 2010.
Three of the latter, a French woman and the two Africans, were released in February while the other four remain in the hands of the north African al Qaeda branch.
The Rest @ Online News
Showing posts with label Abdelhamid Abou Zeid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abdelhamid Abou Zeid. Show all posts
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Algerian Offensive Against AQIM Underway
Published : Monday, January 03 2011 15:02
ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Algerian army is conducting its biggest offensive in years against al-Qaida forces in the north across the Kabylie mountains and reportedly disrupted a major plot to use cellphone-detonated explosives in a bombing campaign.
There were reports that some top leaders of the group, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, have been killed but these haven't been confirmed.
The military has maintained a security blackout on the operation since it was launched Dec. 9 with some 5,000 troops, including Special Forces and helicopter gunships.
However, Algerian newspapers have given the land and air campaign a lot of coverage in recent days."It's not a limited campaign," a senior official was quoted as saying. "It will continue for some time, possibly until late January."
Algiers newspapers report that 2,000 more troops are scheduled to reinforce the operation in which a large group of militants are besieged by the military in AQIM's northern stronghold.The offensive was triggered by the capture of two militants in early December.
They told interrogators that a major gathering of AQIM chieftains was planned at Sidi Ali Bounab, 70 miles east of Algiers, presided over by AQIM's overall commander, Abdelmalek Droukdel.The military had announced no results from the extensive operations but newspapers have reported that more than 20 militants have been killed.Droukdel, aka Abu Mousaab Abdelwadoud, has maintained the group's northern headquarters there for some time.There have been unconfirmed reports that Droukdel, 40, was among the militants killed in the offensive. He has been reported slain several times before but and always turned alive although he appears to have been badly wounded in 2009.
The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington think tank that monitors global terrorism, quoted Algerian security sources as saying the meeting was intended to organize a force to be sent to the Sahara Desert to block a planned coup by AQIM's southern command.
The aim was to depose Droukdel and set up an independent emirate in the Sahara and the adjacent semi-arid Sahel region, Jamestown reported.Droukdel took over the militant group known as the Islamic Group for Preaching and Combat in 2004 and led it into an alliance with al-Qaida in 2006.
He has been unchallenged until recently. AQIM's southern "emir," or leader, Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, Droukdel's former lieutenant, has emerged as a rival and has garnered tens of millions of dollars in ransom for European -- and Arab -- hostages his fighters have seized.Western counter-terrorism specialists have viewed Abu Zeid as a possible successor to Droukdel, who is ideologically close to the core al-Qaida leadership holed up in northern Pakistan.
His main base is believed to be in the hill country along the Algeria-Mali border deep in Sahel, where U.S. intelligence considers him a serious threat in the mineral-rich region of northwest Africa.AQIM is the only al-Qaida affiliate operating in Africa, with the possible exception of al-Sahaab in Somalia.
It has been expanding its operations across the region. It's viewed in some quarters as a threat to Europe.Algeria is leading the fight against the Algerian-led jihadists. France declared war on AQIM in July after Abu Zeid beheaded a 78-year-old French hostage, Michael Germaneau.That happened after seven of Abu Zeid's men were killed during an abortive attempt by French Special Forces and Mauritanian troops to rescue the ailing Germaneau.
Overall, Abu Zeid has been blamed for the abduction of more than 20 Europeans since 2008.They include five French citizens kidnapped at the French uranium mining operation at Arlit in Niger. They remain in captivity, reportedly in neighboring Mali.The Americans are sufficiently concerned about the threat Abu Zeid poses that they supplied electronic intelligence on him to their French counterparts.
The Algerian offensive initially targeted suspected hideouts in forests and scrubland near Sidi Ali Bounab, southwest of the town of Tizi-Ouzou, 65 miles east of Algiers.On Dec. 10, the military jammed three mobile phone networks for six days, the first time such a shutdown had been ordered in the fight against the Islamists.The objective apparently was to ensure that the militants couldn't communicate or electronically detonate the bombs they were reported to be planning for Tizi Ouzou and the nearby towns of Boumerdes and Bouira.
The Rest @ PoliTimes
ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Algerian army is conducting its biggest offensive in years against al-Qaida forces in the north across the Kabylie mountains and reportedly disrupted a major plot to use cellphone-detonated explosives in a bombing campaign.
There were reports that some top leaders of the group, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, have been killed but these haven't been confirmed.
The military has maintained a security blackout on the operation since it was launched Dec. 9 with some 5,000 troops, including Special Forces and helicopter gunships.
However, Algerian newspapers have given the land and air campaign a lot of coverage in recent days."It's not a limited campaign," a senior official was quoted as saying. "It will continue for some time, possibly until late January."
Algiers newspapers report that 2,000 more troops are scheduled to reinforce the operation in which a large group of militants are besieged by the military in AQIM's northern stronghold.The offensive was triggered by the capture of two militants in early December.
They told interrogators that a major gathering of AQIM chieftains was planned at Sidi Ali Bounab, 70 miles east of Algiers, presided over by AQIM's overall commander, Abdelmalek Droukdel.The military had announced no results from the extensive operations but newspapers have reported that more than 20 militants have been killed.Droukdel, aka Abu Mousaab Abdelwadoud, has maintained the group's northern headquarters there for some time.There have been unconfirmed reports that Droukdel, 40, was among the militants killed in the offensive. He has been reported slain several times before but and always turned alive although he appears to have been badly wounded in 2009.
The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington think tank that monitors global terrorism, quoted Algerian security sources as saying the meeting was intended to organize a force to be sent to the Sahara Desert to block a planned coup by AQIM's southern command.
The aim was to depose Droukdel and set up an independent emirate in the Sahara and the adjacent semi-arid Sahel region, Jamestown reported.Droukdel took over the militant group known as the Islamic Group for Preaching and Combat in 2004 and led it into an alliance with al-Qaida in 2006.
He has been unchallenged until recently. AQIM's southern "emir," or leader, Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, Droukdel's former lieutenant, has emerged as a rival and has garnered tens of millions of dollars in ransom for European -- and Arab -- hostages his fighters have seized.Western counter-terrorism specialists have viewed Abu Zeid as a possible successor to Droukdel, who is ideologically close to the core al-Qaida leadership holed up in northern Pakistan.
His main base is believed to be in the hill country along the Algeria-Mali border deep in Sahel, where U.S. intelligence considers him a serious threat in the mineral-rich region of northwest Africa.AQIM is the only al-Qaida affiliate operating in Africa, with the possible exception of al-Sahaab in Somalia.
It has been expanding its operations across the region. It's viewed in some quarters as a threat to Europe.Algeria is leading the fight against the Algerian-led jihadists. France declared war on AQIM in July after Abu Zeid beheaded a 78-year-old French hostage, Michael Germaneau.That happened after seven of Abu Zeid's men were killed during an abortive attempt by French Special Forces and Mauritanian troops to rescue the ailing Germaneau.
Overall, Abu Zeid has been blamed for the abduction of more than 20 Europeans since 2008.They include five French citizens kidnapped at the French uranium mining operation at Arlit in Niger. They remain in captivity, reportedly in neighboring Mali.The Americans are sufficiently concerned about the threat Abu Zeid poses that they supplied electronic intelligence on him to their French counterparts.
The Algerian offensive initially targeted suspected hideouts in forests and scrubland near Sidi Ali Bounab, southwest of the town of Tizi-Ouzou, 65 miles east of Algiers.On Dec. 10, the military jammed three mobile phone networks for six days, the first time such a shutdown had been ordered in the fight against the Islamists.The objective apparently was to ensure that the militants couldn't communicate or electronically detonate the bombs they were reported to be planning for Tizi Ouzou and the nearby towns of Boumerdes and Bouira.
The Rest @ PoliTimes
Monday, November 01, 2010
AQIM Tries to Reconnect Communication to France
The following was posted on November 1st, 2010, to the Algerian Independant Newspaper El Kabar, and seems to have been immedeately pulled.
It is likely a plant by somone interested in facilitating negotiation between France and AQIM concering ransom for hostages, since recent negotiations between France and AQIM have not gone well.
Mathieu Guidere and the orignial writer of the article could be checked out;
IP records can be tracked back getting access to Google Analytics account
UA-3762523-1 which holds a record of all IP addresses who posted and visited the cache.
Shimron Issachar
*************
Abu Zeid, also known as Abid Hammadou, who commands one of two squads of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is likely to become the new leader of AQIM after the death of the current leader, namely Abdelmalek Droukdel, alias Abu Musab Abdelouadoud.
“This guy is on the rise,” said Mathieu Guidere, a North African terrorism specialist at the University of Geneva and author of several books on Islamic radicalism.
M.Guidere added that the recent threat of leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden against French and European interests, and French ones in particular in the Sahel region, reflects that Bin Laden trust Abu Zeid as a leader.
In this context, the Swiss expert predicts a happy-ending of the French hostage crisis, detained by Abu Zeid in Mali. M. Guidere explained that Islamic Sharia prohibits the execution of hostages in case of the existence of negotiation cannels.
He further indicated that the French hostages are likely to be released by exchanging them with AQIM detainees at Sahel countries, adding that negotiations are to be long.
The Resthref="http://www.elkhabar.com/">El Kabar
It is likely a plant by somone interested in facilitating negotiation between France and AQIM concering ransom for hostages, since recent negotiations between France and AQIM have not gone well.
Mathieu Guidere and the orignial writer of the article could be checked out;
IP records can be tracked back getting access to Google Analytics account
UA-3762523-1 which holds a record of all IP addresses who posted and visited the cache.
Shimron Issachar
*************
Abu Zeid, also known as Abid Hammadou, who commands one of two squads of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is likely to become the new leader of AQIM after the death of the current leader, namely Abdelmalek Droukdel, alias Abu Musab Abdelouadoud.
“This guy is on the rise,” said Mathieu Guidere, a North African terrorism specialist at the University of Geneva and author of several books on Islamic radicalism.
M.Guidere added that the recent threat of leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden against French and European interests, and French ones in particular in the Sahel region, reflects that Bin Laden trust Abu Zeid as a leader.
In this context, the Swiss expert predicts a happy-ending of the French hostage crisis, detained by Abu Zeid in Mali. M. Guidere explained that Islamic Sharia prohibits the execution of hostages in case of the existence of negotiation cannels.
He further indicated that the French hostages are likely to be released by exchanging them with AQIM detainees at Sahel countries, adding that negotiations are to be long.
The Resthref="http://www.elkhabar.com/">El Kabar
Saturday, July 11, 2009
AQIM Hits the Press
AQIM seems to be putting the Ransom money they United Nations arranged to pay to work...
-Shimron Issachar
Just about a year after the last time and two-and-a-half years after the first time, the New York Times again treats al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on July 10 (AQIM) to some lurid front-page publicity, "Qaeda Branch Steps Up Raids in North Africa."
The story alarmingly fails to mention the US military advisors that have been dispatched to the region in supposed response to the AQIM threat, but does say that "Algerian security forces [are] now offering military and intelligence support to poorer neighboring countries like Mali, where the insurgents have sought refuge."
Like most such Times accounts, the report is based largely on quotes from anonymous officials—such as "a senior French counterterrorism official" who said AQIM "are now part of the global jihad." One one-the-record quote is from US Africa Command chief, Gen. William E. Ward: "Is there a threat? There sure is a threat."
The report focuses on a litany of AQIM's recent audacious attacks—some of which we already noted. Iin late May, AQIM killed a Briton, Edwin Dyer, a day after its second deadline for meeting its demands expired. Dyer had been kidnapped on Jan. 22 along with a Swiss citizen and two other tourists in Niger and was held in Mali. In return for his life, AQIM had demanded the release of Abu Qatada, a Jordanian-born Palestinian cleric held in Britain, as well as $14 million. (Qatada's release was also sought by the militants in Iraq who took members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams hostage in 2005.)
-Shimron Issachar
Just about a year after the last time and two-and-a-half years after the first time, the New York Times again treats al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on July 10 (AQIM) to some lurid front-page publicity, "Qaeda Branch Steps Up Raids in North Africa."
The story alarmingly fails to mention the US military advisors that have been dispatched to the region in supposed response to the AQIM threat, but does say that "Algerian security forces [are] now offering military and intelligence support to poorer neighboring countries like Mali, where the insurgents have sought refuge."
Like most such Times accounts, the report is based largely on quotes from anonymous officials—such as "a senior French counterterrorism official" who said AQIM "are now part of the global jihad." One one-the-record quote is from US Africa Command chief, Gen. William E. Ward: "Is there a threat? There sure is a threat."
The report focuses on a litany of AQIM's recent audacious attacks—some of which we already noted. Iin late May, AQIM killed a Briton, Edwin Dyer, a day after its second deadline for meeting its demands expired. Dyer had been kidnapped on Jan. 22 along with a Swiss citizen and two other tourists in Niger and was held in Mali. In return for his life, AQIM had demanded the release of Abu Qatada, a Jordanian-born Palestinian cleric held in Britain, as well as $14 million. (Qatada's release was also sought by the militants in Iraq who took members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams hostage in 2005.)
- About two weeks later, gunmen in Timbuktu, Mali, killed a senior Malian army intelligence officer who had arrested several suspected AQIM members.
- Within days, Malian armed forces retaliated, capturing a militant base near the Algerian border and killing more than two dozen fighters.
- On June 23, assailants in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, killed Christopher Ervin Leggett, an American aid worker, in what authorities called an attempted kidnapping.
- In Algeria about the same time, militants using roadside bombs and automatic rifles ambushed a convoy of paramilitary police forces about 110 miles east of Algiers, killing 18 members of the security forces.
- And last weekend, presumed AQIM fighters attacked a Malian army patrol in that country's northern desert, killing nearly a dozen soldiers and capturing several others.
- AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdal has also threatened a "flagrant war" against France in retaliation for an effort by France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to ban burqas.
Times sources conjecture that the "mayhem may be partly a result of a vicious rivalry" between two AQIM subcommanders in Mali, Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, "a clash that underscores the kind of autonomous jihad cells that counterterrorism officials say are particularly hard to combat." The rivalry may exist, but the attacks seem to be directed at common enemies, not fellow militants.
Lauren C. Ploch, an Africa specialist with the Congressional Research Service, said AQIM's ideology is unlikely to win much sympathy with the populace of the Sahel states. "Nevertheless," she said, "the vast spaces in northern Mali, Mauritania, Niger and southern Algeria are extremely difficult to police, so it’s quite possible that we may see surges in extremist activity in certain countries depending on how well their neighbors are able to control their own territories."
Saturday, June 20, 2009
AQIM base in Bamakois Captured by Mali Forces
Mali's security forces have captured a suspected al-Qaeda base in the Sahara desert near the Algerian border, Malian officials say. [Bamako]
At least 12 militants died while five soldiers were killed by land mines during the operation.
Earlier this month, the al-Qaeda group is thought to have killed a UK hostage it had been holding for five months.
Last week, a senior Malian intelligence officer who was investigating the group was shot dead in Timbuktu. Lt Col Lamana Ould Cheikh was believed to have been behind the recent arrest of three alleged militants. One of his colleagues reportedly said his assassination was "an act of war".
The Rest @ the BBC
At least 12 militants died while five soldiers were killed by land mines during the operation.
Earlier this month, the al-Qaeda group is thought to have killed a UK hostage it had been holding for five months.
Last week, a senior Malian intelligence officer who was investigating the group was shot dead in Timbuktu. Lt Col Lamana Ould Cheikh was believed to have been behind the recent arrest of three alleged militants. One of his colleagues reportedly said his assassination was "an act of war".
- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is believed to operate in the Sahara desert between Algeria, Mali and Niger.
- It grew out of Algerian Islamist groups which have been battling the government for almost two decades.
- Mali's government believes that Algerian militant Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, listed by the UN as a known al-Qaeda member, was responsible for the death of the British hostage Edwin Dyer.
Mr Dyer was kidnapped in Niger in January, but was being held in Mali.
It is believed the al-Qaeda cell is still holding a Swiss national, Werner Greiner, captured alongside Mr Dyer.
The Rest @ the BBC
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