South Africa: Hawks Mum On Al-Qaeda Probe Report

Karoo National Park, South Africa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Johannesburg —

    The Hawks have declined to comment on a report that police and the State Security Agency (SSA) monitored training of al-Qaeda "terrorists" in South Africa without taking action.

"No comment. It's not our policy to talk about works underway," Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said on Monday, reiterating what he told the online publication Daily Maverick, which published the report.

The Daily Maverick reported that the police's crimes against the state unit and the SSA had been monitoring activities at a farm near the notorious apartheid police hit-squad camp Vlakplaas, outside Pretoria, and at a secluded farm in the Klein Karoo.

"Operation Kanu" was reportedly launched to "investigate extremist Muslim activities" in South Africa, shortly after the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks in the United States, and was crime intelligence driven.

It began at the same time as a parallel investigation into far right-wing activities, called "Operation Waco", which led to the marathon Boeremag treason trial.

British and US intelligence agencies reportedly pressured the South African government into acting against any possible Muslim terrorist threats emanating from within the country, and warned South Africa to stop "pussyfooting" on the issue.

"The fact that no bombs have gone off to date in the country doesn't mean that the threat doesn't exist within South Africa's borders," they reportedly warned.

The Daily Maverick reported that "at the centre of this alleged terrorist network are several members of the well-known and influential Dockrat family".

It traced the family's ownership of fashion chains and noted its choice of a mosque popular among Pakistani and Malawian Muslims.

It reported that Farhad and Junaid Dockrat's names were forwarded to the United Nations' Security Council's Al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions committee for designation, but that South Africa put an indefinite hold on the designation process.

The Dockrats reportedly denied links to al-Qaeda or any other militant groups.

According to the online publication, three months after they were put on a US "terrorist list" in 2007, the Dockrats moved their operation from Pretoria to the farm, Greylock, in the Klein Karoo.

There, they were monitored by an intelligence team pretending to search for a rare species of Protea.

There was a court dispute over a communal water line and the Dockrats later bought a 70 percent share of the developing Tsitsikamma Golf Estate.

Investment reportedly ground to a halt, and the home owners' association was in dispute with them, claiming Tsitsikamma had been declared a "possible terrorist hotspot" by the US and this was affecting tourism.

In a comment to the Daily Maverick about the Tsitsikamma matter, the company which owns the golf estate said it welcomed all investigations and would fully co-operate with the authorities.

"We trust that the Daily Maverick is not being driven by an Islamophobic attack generated by a commercial venture of the Tsitsikamma Golf Estate, which has been placed under care and maintenance arising from the current economic climate; a fate suffered by numerous golf estates," the company was reported to have said.

from allAfrica/SAPA
13 May 2013

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Tunisia: Al-Qaeda tied to Jebel Chaambi militants

[AFP/Abderrazek Khlifi] Tunisian Special Forces stand guard in Kasserine as soldiers continue their hunt for a jihadist group hiding out in the border region with Algeria.

Tunisian security forces arrested 37 suspects connected to jihadist violence in Jebel Chaambi, the interior ministry revealed on Tuesday (May 7th).

Interior ministry spokesperson Mohamed Ali Aroui also said the remaining militants belonged to the Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade, which is linked to al-Qaeda. He made the announcement at a joint press conference with defence ministry spokesperson Mokhtar Ben Nasr.

The arrests included armed militants as well as elements that supplied logistic support, according to Aroui. Ten suspects were captured in Kef, while the rest were rounded up in Kasserine.

He stressed that the security forces and the army have full knowledge of the names and nationalities of the militants holed up in Kasserine and Kef.

He pointed out that the number of militants at large was between 10 and 15 terrorists in Kef and 20 in the Jebel Chaambi area of Kasserine, including 11 Algerians.

Aroui confirmed that the army and security forces were working very hard to eliminate these terrorist groups in co-ordination with Algeria and Libya.

"The armed elements holed up in Jebel Chaambi on the border with Algeria received logistic assistance of water, food and clothing from Tunisians sympathetic to them, which serves as evidence of the presence of an incubator for those insurgents who are believed to belong to al-Qaeda," defence ministry spokesperson Ben Nasr said.

Meanwhile a fourth land mine exploded on Monday morning in Jebel Chaambi, seriously wounding three army corporals. One of them, from the elite brigade of the fort of Bizerte in northern Tunisia, lost a leg. The second from the same brigade lost his eyes and sustained injuries to his face while the injuries of the third soldier were not determined.

"There is co-ordination with the Algerian authorities at both the field and intelligence levels to capture the terrorists who sought refuge in Jebel Chaambi," the defence ministry spokesman said.

He explained that "the mines that exploded were made of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and flammable materials that can easily explode when exposed to heat."

Journalist Nabil Zaghdoud commented that "nothing has changed" since the clashes with terrorists in Soliman several years ago.

"However, they were unable to this day to eliminate these terrorists and the reason is the absence of a political and sovereign decision to eliminate them and eradicate their roots with iron and fire," he added. Sadok Chourou, an Ennahda leader known as a hardliner, called for a dialogue between the government and the armed Islamists, a proposal that raised eyebrows.

Political analyst Anis Mansouri answered Chourou by saying that he was calling for "recognising the terrorists as a political party that the government sits with for dialogue".

"Their demands are the application of Sharia law, crucifixion of highwaymen, and to excommunicate as many as possible... In short, they would convert Tunisia into Afghanistan or Sudan," Mansouri added, stressing, "No dialogue and no democracy with the enemies of democracy and with those who call for violence, exercise it, justify it or defend it."

However, Ennahda chief Rachid Ghannouchi took a more moderate tone in remarks posted on the party's official Facebook page.

"We salute the heroes of the national army, the police and civil society in confronting terrorist acts and all young Islamists must know that fighting a Muslim is a heresy, debauchery and one of the greatest crimes."

Ghannouchi added, "Our police force is Muslim and so is our army and society; this so-called jihad has no place here."

By Yasmin Najjar in Tunis for Magharebia – 08/05/2013

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Tunisia Hunts al-Qaida-linked Militants Near Algeria

TUNIS - The Tunisian army and police force were hunting more than 30 suspected al-Qaida linked militants close to the border with Algeria on Tuesday, and President Moncef Marzouki travelled to the area to oversee the operation in a signal of its importance.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said there were about a dozen militants in the city of El Kef and about 20 in the remote area of Mount Chambi in the west of the country where police and militants have clashed regularly in recent weeks.

"President Moncef Marzouki arrived in Mount Chambi to raise the morale of soldiers and check on the conduct of pursuit operations there,'' an official in the president's office said.

The Interior Ministry spokesman said security forces had apprehended someone who had been delivering food to some of the suspected militants, cutting them off from supplies.

Tunisia, long among the most secular countries in the Arab world, has become increasingly concerned about attacks the authorities blame on hardline Islamists.

Police say Salafists - Muslim extremists - were behind the assassination of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid in February, which triggered the biggest street protests in Tunisia since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

from VOA News

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French jihadist arrested in Mali

[AFP/Sahara Media] French jihadist Gilles Le Guen in October delivered a message to warn against a military intervention in northern Mali.

French forces captured a French citizen in Mali suspected of joining al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

"He was arrested by our troop close to Timbuktu. He was obviously fighting among jihadist groups," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Europe1 on Wednesday (May 1st).

"The jihadist was not in combat position when he was arrested by our troops, given that the situation in Timbuktu was relatively calm," he added. "However, our troops continue to do their job with necessary night patrols, and in this way, we managed to arrest him."

The minister noted that this case did not represent a general pattern.

"There are only a handful of such cases," he said. "We know their identities, and therefore, we have to take the necessary precautions."

The minister spoke of "an individual deviation to fanaticism" and described the suspect as "a loser who became a terrorist".

Malian airport and security sources told AFP on Thursday that the wife and children of the French Islamist arrested in northern Mali had been "evacuated" to Paris.

Le Guen, 58, who goes by the name Abdel Jelil, was detained on Sunday and is now being questioned in Mali's northeastern city of Gao, AFP reported. The Frenchman is believed to have joined AQIM after moving to Mali with his family following previous stints living in Morocco and Mauritania.

He converted to Islam in 1985, according to Le Monde.

In October, Le Guen appeared in Islamic dress with a gun at his side in a video on a Mauritanian website in which he warned France, the United States and the United Nations against military intervention in Mali to drive Islamists from the country's vast desert north.

To local analysts, the incident proves that terrorism has no nationality and any individual can fall prey to extremist propaganda.

"I'm not surprised with the presence of this French jihadist with the Islamists in Mali," Mauritanian security analyst and strategy expert Hamdi Ould Dah told Magharebia. "Terrorism has become internationalised in recent years, which attracted the attention of some people outside the cultural and civilisational circle where terrorism grew from salafist ideology."

He added that the media "opened the doors for salafist ideology to reach the farthest point in the world". Extremists take advantage of the "means of globalisation" to present some peoples as "oppressed victims of certain policies", he commented.

"Extremism is an approach that a group of individuals who may not be from the same civilisation can join for this or that reason because of psychological inclinations, exactly like some people may resort to suicide or sadism," Ould Dah concluded.

The arrest caught many Malian observers off guard.

"While the French state and its soldiers enjoy much appreciation and respect in Mali, we were shocked to find out about the arrest of a French citizen whose country is trying to liberate the land of Mali from the terrorists," Malian journalist Moussa Maiga said.

"However, this shock may fade away when we come to realise that this French citizen is not much different from the Malians who fight alongside al-Qaeda against their own country," he added.

In her turn, Meriam Coulibaly, a Malian youth activist, wondered, "How can a native French citizen espouse jihadist ideology against us? He must have been a victim of terrorists who deceived him to embrace the ideology of killing and terrorism."

from MAGHAREBIA
By Jemal Oumar in Nouakchott for Magharebia – 02/05/2013

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• French Islamist captured in Mali (bbc.co.uk)
• Army: French arrest jihadist convert in Mali (foxnews.com)

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Female suicide bomber kill four at hospital in Bajaur

According to Pakistani security officials, a woman suicide bomber today detonated a bomb outside a hospital in a lawless tribal area of northwest Pakistan, killing at least four people and injuring five others.

The attack took place in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan where the military has carried out several offensives against Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants.

Mohammad Riaz, chief doctor at the government hospital said, “At least four people were killed and four others were wounded in the blast outside the main gate of the hospital.”

In the meantime local administration official Abdul Haseebhe said, “It was a female suicide bomber, about 18-20 years old. We have found her legs and head.”

The dead included a security personnel, a hospital worker and two civilians, he added.

Bajaur, one of seven districts that make up Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), had been a stronghold of the Taliban until 2008. However, the security forces cleared the region of Taliban militants as the result of major offensives.

from KHAAMA
By Meena Haseeb - 20 Apr 2013, 4:02 pm

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UAE Arrests Al-Qaida-Linked 'Terrorist Cell'

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arrested seven people they say are part of an al-Qaida-linked terrorist cell.
 
The official WAM news agency said Thursday the group was "planning to carry out acts" in the UAE, as well as to recruit others and promote al-Qaida.

It said the seven people arrested were of "Arab nationalities" but did not give additional details.

The statement also said the group was providing money and logistical support to help al-Qaida further its activities in the region.

Middle East Policy Council Executive Director Thomas Mattair says support for Islamist extremism is rife throughout the region. He says counter-terrorism efforts, while successful in some areas, tend to drive recruits across borders.

"The Saudis, the Emiratis, they cooperate with us strenuously to root out these people and there have been successes in both countries," he said. "But the result is that a lot of [the terrorists] have been driven into Yemen, and that's really where the problem is most critical. They could have been transiting the UAE on their way somewhere else, possibly to Syria."

Mattair says when Sunni Arabs across the region see their co-religionists under siege in Syria, which drives some into the hands of extremist groups.

In December, UAE authorities arrested what they called a "deviant group" in connection with a terrorist cell planning attacks in the Gulf kingdom, Saudi Arabia and nearby states.

Mattair says that a serious U.S. commitment to helping push the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to resolution would deprive al-Qaida of a major source of propaganda.

Mattair says al-Qaida recruitment videos feature Palestinians or Iraqis who it says have been killed and that the group "blames [their deaths] on the United States."

from VOA News
April 18, 2013

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Ansar al-Din spokesman to surrender

A one-time spokesman for Malian Islamist group Ansar al-Din said Wednesday (April 17th) that he was ready to turn himself in.

Sanda Ould Bouamama told ANI that he was close to the border between Mali and Algeria and was going to surrender to Algerian authorities.

"I have walked more than 80 kilometres on foot to reach the Algerian border so that I can surrender to the Algerian army," he said. "Right now I'm close to the Algerian town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, where I intend to turn myself in to the Algerian army."

He added that on April 9th, unknown individuals attempted to assassinate him. Ould Bouamama previously served as the Timbuktu spokesperson for the radical Islamist group.

He asked Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and the Mauritanian government to "do everything possible to have me extradited to Mauritania so that I can be put on trial, given that I am a Mauritanian national".

This surrender comes as another serious blow to the terrorist groups, who have suffered huge losses since the French-led offensive in northern Mali began in January.

"It coincides with the arrest on April 16th by the Malian armed forces of 12 terrorists in Djebok, a locality situated about 100 km to the north-east of Gao," Jidou Ould Sidi, a journalist specialising in security said.

"Among the 12 terrorists who are being questioned is Mohamed Ag Ntaki, a MUJAO explosives expert who is believed by the Malian intelligence services to have been responsible for making and placing improvised explosive devices in the Gao region. He also laid mines in the region of Imenas and Talatai which hit ambulances belonging to the Serval force and the Malian army at the beginning of March," he added.

Arrest warrants were issued on April 12th for Touareg rebel leaders in the Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the armed Islamist groups Ansar al-Din, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), David Dembele, a writer for the newspaper Dépêches du Mali said.

They stand accused of offences including terrorism and sedition, he said.

Dembele added that 26 people were subject to international arrest warrants issued by the prosecutor-general at Bamako Court of Appeal.

The wanted men include MNLA Secretary-General Bilal Ag Acherif, Ansar al-Din leader Iyad Ag Ghaly, Oumar Ould Hamaha, Sidi Mohamed Ould Bouamama alias Sanda Ould Bouamama, and MUJAO member and suspected drug trafficker Cherif Ould Attaher alias Cherif Ould Tahar.

Alghabasse Ag Intalla, who belongs to one of the large Touareg clans in the region of Kidal, is among the men claimed to be members of Ansar al-Din. However, since January 24th he has led the Azawad Islamic Movement (MIA).

"The arrests of leaders such as Mohamed Moussa Ag Mouhamed, who is regarded as the third most senior man in Ansar al-Din, and Oumeini Ould Baba Ahmed, a high-ranking leader of MUJAO, have been very costly for the jihadists, who are unquestionably in disarray," Ould Sidi said.

from MAGHAREBIA
By Bakari Gueye in Nouakchott for Magharebia – 18/04/2013

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Islamist Militant Assault Kills 22 in Somali Capital

Somali policemen take up position near the scene of a deadly blast in Mogadishu Apr. 14, 2013.

Somali authorities say suicide bombings and assaults by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants on Mogadishu's main court complex killed at least 22 people and wounded 18 others Sunday, breaking a fragile return to peace.

The preliminary death toll, which includes all nine attackers, is likely to rise because some families took the bodies of their loved ones home instead of to the hospital.

Mogadishu medical officials tell VOA ((Somali service)) the two top lawyers who recently defended an alleged rape victim and the journalist who interviewed her are among the victims.

Authorities say the militants were dressed in Somali military uniforms when they stormed the main court building and started shooting at the security guards on duty. 

Government forces arrived and laid siege to the compound. Explosions could be heard while the two sides exchanged gunfire.  Hours later, a car bomb exploded near the airport in the capital, damaging a vehicle said to be carrying Turkish citizens.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on the court complex.

Somali President Hassan Mohamud strongly condemned Sunday's attacks, saying that "a few desperate terrorists" will not keep Somalia from moving forward toward peace and stability.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned the attacks and called for the "terrorists" who carried them out to face justice.

The U.N. Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, expressed shock and outrage at the violence.

from VOA News
April 14, 2013

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French Troops Move Against Islamist Base in Mali

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

French troops in northern Mali have launched a new operation against a suspected Islamist militant base near the city of Gao.

A reporter for VOA said Monday that a force of about 1,000 soldiers, backed by tanks, helicopters and drones, is moving against the base in the small town of Bourem.

Al-Qaida-linked militants fled to remote areas after French and Malian government troops drove them out of northern Mali's main cities and towns in a January offensive.

Meanwhile, the president of Niger says the battle against Islamist militants in neighboring Mali is "almost over."

In an interview with VOA, President Mahamadou Issoufou says northern Mali is free and "many terrorists have been eliminated," following the French-led offensive.

He predicts armed militants and drug traffickers will still organize attacks but says "significant results have been achieved."

France has indicated it will begin withdrawing its troops from Mali by the end of this month. 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the deployment of two replacement forces in Mali - one to help stabilize the country and one to continue fighting al-Qaida.

In the interview, Niger's president voiced support for the presence of U.S. troops and drones in Niger.  Issoufou says the forces are needed to fight regional terrorism, and says that without the drones, "we are blind."

President Obama has said about 100 U.S. military personnel are in Niger for the purpose of intelligence collection.

from VOA News
April 08, 2013

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Algerian governor escapes Al-Qaeda assassination

Medea wali Brahim Merad on Wednesday (April 3rd) survived an assassination attempt by al-Qaeda terrorists in the Algerian city of Mezghena.
Terrorists opened fire on police officers who were securing the route for the governor's convoy going to an event. One police officer was killed and two others were wounded and were taken to a hospital in Tablat.

There are conflicting reports as to what happened, El Watan noted. One of the newspaper's sources said that terrorists started shooting into a crowd of people they thought were surrounding the governor.

The other report said that the terrorists started shooting because they grew impatient from waiting for the governor's arrival.

The governor's convoy remained relatively distant from the place where the fire-fight took place and the governor withdrew after the security forces intervened.

The operation was followed by a bomb blast targeting an Algerian army vehicle that rushed to the scene directly after the attack. However, no soldiers were wounded and there were no material losses.

The terrorists seized four civilian vehicles and fled after forcing the owners out of their vehicles. The owners were later found tied up on the road.

Ennahda Movement Secretary-General Fateh Rebai condemned the terrorist attack that targeted Medea governor and his accompanying delegation.

In a statement, the movement called the attack a cowardly criminal act, and that such cowardly attacks could bring Algeria back to blood and fire.

The statement also urged the authorities to deal with all reasons of social and political tensions that some exploit to manipulate young people and throw them into the cycle of violence and terrorism.

"Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) always seeks to target the symbols of state… to show that it still can inflict harm," Mohamed Smiem, an academic specialising in security affairs said.

"Although the terrorist operations have recently dropped, the group is always seeking to carry out attacks… It wants to send a message to national and international public opinion that it still has the ability to launch painful blows," he added.

He noted that the group chose this area for this operation due to the rough terrain there and the mountains surrounding the road that the local official was supposed to take, in order to make the chase difficult.

This was not the first time that AQIM targeted senior Algerian officials. In 2007, terrorists targeted the Tizi Ouzou governor, and in 2012, former Illizi governor Mohamed Laid Khelfi was kidnapped by a group affiliated to Abdelhamid Abou Zeid.

The Illizi governor was taken to Libyan soil and was freed after the central authorities in Tripoli intervened.

The operation occurred the same day Algerian authorities released a list of 57 terrorists, they said would likely carry out suicide attacks. Algerian newspaper Ennahar published the list with pictures.

The group includes one woman and two Libyans who have been wanted since the end of 2011. The newspaper added that orders were given to all security authorities to publish the pictures of terrorists, names and aliases to facilitate their identification.

from MAGHAREBIA
By Walid Ramzi in Algiers for Magharebia – 05/04/2013

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Mali Troops, Islamists Clash in Timbuktu

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

At least one Malian soldier was killed and several others were wounded Sunday during fighting between Malian soldiers backed by French forces  and Islamist militants in the northern city of Timbuktu.

Officials say at least five insurgents were also killed in the shootout that started Saturday night after a group of Islamist militants infiltrated the Saharan city.

The militants linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, used a suicide bomber as distraction and entered the city while he blew himself up at a military checkpoint.  The militants are trying to recapture the city they held for months until Malian and french troops recaptured it in January.

It is not clear how many rebels have re-entered Timbuktu.

City residents told VOA that the fighting is not far from their homes, and that some civilians have been wounded by stray bullets.  They say they are staying indoors as the clashes continue.

The attack Saturday began hours after a Malian military vehicle drove over a land mine, killing two soldiers.

Mali has been the target of a series of attacks claimed by Islamist insurgents since France launched a military intervention against al-Qaida-linked groups that had seized northern Mali.  France began its operation in Mali in January.

Meanwhile, a contingent of Senegalese troops has arrived in the northern city of Gao to boost a regional intervention force trying to oust the Islamist rebels from there.

French President Francois Hollande has said France plans to begin pulling its troops out of northern Mali in April.  A multi-nation African force being assembled to replace the French needs more training and equipment to protect vulnerable northern Malian towns.

from VOA News
March 31, 2013

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5 killed, 13 injured in Iraqi violence

BAGHDAD, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and 13 others wounded in separate attacks in Iraq Monday, while an al- Qaida militant leader was shot dead in a raid, the police said.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, two policemen were killed when a roadside bomb struck a joint police-army patrol in the western part of the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Iraq's capital Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Five policemen and three soldiers, including an officer, were wounded by the blast, the source said.

In a separate incident, a paramilitary member of local Awakening Council group was killed and three others wounded when gunmen, believed to be affiliated to al-Qaida network in Iraq, attacked their checkpoint at a village some 35 km northeast of Baquba, the source said.

The Awakening Council group, also known as Sons of Iraq, consists of armed groups, including some powerful anti-U.S. Sunni insurgent groups, who turned their rifles against al-Qaida after the latter exercised indiscriminate killings against both Shiite and Sunni communities.

Also in the province, an Iraqi army and police force shot dead Abu Jihad, a suspected al-Qaida leader, when they raided his safe house at the village of Makheisah, some 30 km northeast of Baquba, the source said.

Abu Jihad is believed to have been involved in many attacks against Iraqi military patrols in Diyala province, he added.

In addition, two soldiers were wounded when gunmen attacked their checkpoint in the same village, he said.

In Salahudin province, a policeman was killed when a sticky bomb attached to his car detonated while he was driving in north of the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source anonymously told Xinhua.

Violence is still common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007, when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

from XINHUA
2013-03-26 00:17:33

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Did Tunisia’s Salafi Jihadists Just Announce Their Allegiance to al-Qaeda?

by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Aaron Y. Zelin - al-Wasat  blog

On Friday, Magharebia came out with a report that has already garnered attention among those who follow jihadist militancy. The publication claims that Tunisia’s salafi jihadists have just announced their allegiance (bayat) to al-Qaeda:

Tunisian salafist jihadists announced their allegiance to al-Qaeda this week, accepting the group’s invitation to wage a holy war.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s call Sunday (March 17th) to fight Westerners, secularists, reformers and other so-called “enemies” was welcomed by Tunisian salafist jihadists, the movement’s leader Mohamed Anis Chaieb told Assabah.
This was the first time Tunisia’s salafist jihadist groups officially declared their allegiance to al-Qaeda. And the terror group’s call to arms could not have come at a more critical juncture for the still-fragile state.

This is an extraordinarily sloppily reported and misleading article that shouldn’t be taken at face value, although there is a relevant data point beneath the sensationalized presentation. The first, and most obvious, error is that Mohamed Anis Chaieb simply cannot be regarded as “the movement’s leader” in any way, shape, or form. The biggest salafi jihadist organization in Tunisia is Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia (AST), and Abu Iyad al-Tunisi is widely recognized as AST’s emir. Chaieb is an obscure enough figure that most analysts who follow Tunisia and the Maghreb closely have probably never heard of him. He is, in fact, affiliated with AST, as we will detail below. But it is not clear that the statement he made can be construed as speaking for AST as a whole.
continue...
Read the full article here: https://thewasat.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/did-tunisias-salafi-jihadists-just-announce-their-allegiance-to-al-qaeda/

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France Confirms Death of al-Qaida Commander Abou Zeid

This image released on December 25, 2012 by Sahara Media, shows one of the leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelhamid Abou Zeid in an undisclosed place.

France says it can confirm with certainty that Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a top commander in al-Qaida's North African branch, was killed in Mali last month.

The office of French President Francois Hollande issued a statement Saturday confirming Abou Zeid's death in an offensive by French troops in northern Mali's Adrar des Ifoghas mountains.

French officials reported weeks ago that Abou Zeid was "probably" dead but were waiting for DNA tests to verify.

Earlier this month, the nation of Chad had said its troops in northern Mali had killed Abou Zeid, a leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb linked to the kidnapping and killing of at least two Westerners.

France began its campaign in Mali on January 11, as al-Qaida-linked Islamist militants who controlled the north began moving toward the capital, Bamako. President Hollande has said France plans to begin pulling its troops out of northern Mali in April.

Analysts warn a French withdrawal could leave northern Mali vulnerable to a renewed militant takeover. The Malian army was unable to fight the militants on its own, and a multi-nation African force being assembled needs more training and equipment to protect Malian towns.

from VOA News
March 23, 2013

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France: 10 Islamists Killed in Timbuktu

France says about 10 Islamist fighters were killed Thursday as French and Malian forces repelled an attack on the northern Mali city of Timbuktu.
A French army spokesman, Thierry Burkhard, said in Paris that two Malian soldiers were slightly wounded in the overnight clash.

Timbuktu residents reported hearing several hours of gunfire and seeing French warplanes overhead.  They said fighting died down by morning.

The clash followed a suicide bombing at a Malian army checkpoint near the Timbuktu airport late Wednesday.  The bomber and one Malian soldier were killed, while at least two other soldiers were wounded.

It was the first suicide attack in Timbuktu since a French-led offensive drove Islamist militants out of their northern Mali strongholds in January.

On Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande said military operations in Mali are in their last phase.

Analysts fear al-Qaida-linked militants could return to northern Mali's cities and towns after the French withdraw their 4,000 troops from the region.

The Malian army remains weak, and an African force meant to take over from the French lacks funding and training.

Mali was plunged into crisis last year when soldiers overthrew the president, enabling Islamist militants to seize control of the north. The militants imposed a harsh form of Islamic law on the region. French forces intervened when the Islamists began moving south toward the capital.

Most of the recent fighting has been in the Ifoghas mountains of northeastern Mali, where militants fled after their retreat.

from VOA News
March 21, 2013

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Mali Suicide Bombing Leaves 2 Dead

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

DAKAR — An apparent suicide bomber struck in the northern Malian town of Timbuktu Wednesday. News agencies report at least two dead, one Malian soldier and the bomber.

Timbuktu residents say an explosion rocked the town during the night of Wednesday to Thursday.

The explosion reportedly came from a car near the Timbuktu airport where French and Malian troops are stationed.  It was not immediately clear whether the car was laden with explosives or the bomber was wearing a belt.

Malian military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Diarran Kone told VOA that the bombing appeared to have been part of a larger raid. 

He said that the perpetrators were "terrorists who wanted to infiltrate" the area.

French and Malian troops were able to repel the attackers.

Timbuktu residents told VOA that gunfire began around 11 Wednesday night and continued until early Thursday morning.

This resident, identified by his last name Oumar, told VOA by phone from Timbuktu that he heard a "large boom" and gunfire, including heavy weapons, coming from the direction of the airport.  He said he heard French planes flying overhead until the early morning hours.  He said he and his family, unsure of what was happening, remained sheltered in their home until morning.

French, Malian and Chadian troops have been fighting al-Qaida-linked Islamist militants in northern Mali for nearly ten weeks.  France intervened after the militants, who seized control of the region last April, tried to move south in January.

The attack on Timbuktu Wednesday would mark the town's first suicide bombing and highlights fears of a stubborn "hit and run" guerrilla war to come in northern Mali.

France has said it will withdraw its troops, leaving Malian troops and a multi-nation African force to fight the militants.

from VOA News
by Anne Look
March 21, 2013

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Mali: Al Qaeda in Africa Says It Beheads French Hostage

Nouakchott — Al Qaeda's wing in north Africa said it had beheaded a French hostage in retaliation for France's intervention in Mali, Mauritania's ANI news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a spokesman for the group.

In what ANI reported was a telephone call to the agency, which has close links to Islamist militants, the commander said Philippe Verdon had been beheaded on March 10 "in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali," ANI reported.

The death, if proved true, would be a worrying development for Paris, which still has some 14 hostages held in West Africa, including seven in the Sahel by AQIM and its affiliates.

Verdon, a French geologist, was captured in the northern Mali town of Hombori in November 2011. A French foreign ministry spokesman said he had no information on the report.

The AQIM spokesman, who identified himself only as Qayrawani, described Verdon as a French spy, adding that Hollande "bore the responsibility for the remaining hostages."

from allAfrica/Tunis Afrique Presse (Tunis)
20 March 2013

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Attacks Kills at Least 50 in Iraq

Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in the AL-Mashtal district in Baghdad, March 19, 2013.

Iraqi officials say bombings and other attacks have killed at least 50 people and wounded 160 others in mainly Shi'ite areas of the capital, Baghdad.

The violence Tuesday comes on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, and a month before Iraq is set to hold its first elections in three years.

The bombs struck in multiple neighborhoods, including Sadr City and near the heavily fortified Green Zone where several Western embassies are located.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.  Sunni Muslim militants in Iraq frequently attack the country's majority Shi'ites to inflame sectarian tensions and undermine the Shi'ite-led government.

Last week, al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq said it was behind a series of coordinated attacks near the Green Zone that killed at least 24 people.

from VOA News
March 19, 2013

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Al-Qaida Group Claims Iraq Ministry Attack

Al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate group has claimed responsibility for a coordinated attack on a ministry in the capital that killed at least 25 people.

The Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement online it ordered the assault last week on the Justice Ministry, near Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to several government buildings and Western embassies.

The bombings happened one week before the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and a month before Iraq's first elections in three years.

Iraq has been plagued by infighting among sectarian factions. Many Sunnis accuse Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against their community. For months, Sunni militants have been carrying out a series of strikes on Shi'ite targets. 

 

from VOA News

March 17, 2013

 

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Pakistani Taliban threaten to bomb mobile phone shops

(MENAFN - Arab News) Pakistani Taleban have threatened to bomb a mobile phone market in the northwestern city of Peshawar for the "shameless" selling of video clips, ring tones and accessories, officials said yesterday.

Some 60 shopkeepers received letters in the post ordering them to burn the offending stock, including memory cards and speakers for MP3 players, and stick to selling only mobile phones and essential accessories.

DVD and CD shops have in the past been bombed by militants who deemed the businesses "un-Islamic."

In one of the letters, militants wrote: "Do not compel us to send a bomber... stop this shameless business in one week and burn the shameful stuff. Just sell mobile phones, batteries and chargers.

"Your markets have become centers of shamelessness... Our mission is to stop this shameless business and if you do not stop it yourself then we will make an example of you and your market." Officials and police acted quickly to minimize the threat from would-be bombers.

"We have immediately closed down the shops doing ring tones and video clips business, after about 60 shopkeepers received threatening letters from Taleban by mail," local market association secretary general Shakil Ahmed said.

He said parking spots for motorcycles - which are sometimes packed with explosives and detonated - had been moved away from the market and police had been asked to increase security.

Senior police official Faisal Murad said patrols had been stepped up around the market in Peshawar, which sits on the edge of Pakistan's tribal region - a haven for Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The Taleban has increased its campaign of violence in recent months, leading to fears that violence could mar a general election scheduled to take place by mid-May.

Last month the group proposed talks with Islamabad but the government insists the militants must declare a cease-fire before coming to the negotiating table - a condition militants have rejected.

from MENAFN - Arab News - 03/03/2013  

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