Thirteen terrorists killed in Algeria

Algerian terrorists suffered two major blows within the first 24 hours of 2013.

A total of thirteen terrorists were killed in two separate operations carried out by security forces in the province of Boumerdes, 30 kilometres east of Algiers, on Monday (December 31st) and Tuesday.

Over the past few months, security forces have been closing in on small terrorist groups still in hiding within the Boumerdes-Tizi-Ouzou-Bouira triangle, the traditional stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The first operation took place on Monday night in the locality of Keddara, where six terrorists were killed and a cache of weapons was seized. Security officers were conducting a large-scale search and sweep operation in the region on the basis of specific intelligence provided by two terrorists who had surrendered to the security forces the previous week, according to El Moudjahid, reported.

The second operation on Tuesday left seven more terrorists dead in the Oued Bahara area of Boumerdes, the defence ministry announced. The terrorists were part of the El-Feth brigade.

"ANP units engaged in the fight against terrorism were able to eliminate a dangerous terrorist group," the defence ministry said.

The army seized weapons, ammunitions, food and medical supplies during the operation in Boulezazen.

The defence ministry noted that this outcome bore witness to the "determination of the ANP to continue its efforts on the ground to put an end to the activities of the last remaining small groups of terrorists".

Of the seven terrorists killed, four have been identified. They are mostly former members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which was active at the beginning of the 1990s and was particularly murderous.

On August 29th, nine terrorists were killed in a similar operation in Boumerdes.

According to figures published by El Khabar, security forces killed 198 terrorists and arrested 350 members of AQIM in 2012. Several terrorist leaders were killed or arrested during the course of the year.

The most recent incident occurred on December 16th, with the capture of AQIM number two boss and main spokesman Salah Gasmi.

from MAGHAREBIA
By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 03/01/13

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Ansar al-Din, MNLA sign deal in Algiers

[AFP/Farouk Batiche] Members of Ansar al-Din and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) sign agreement in Algiers.

Malian rebel groups Ansar al-Din and the MNLA vow to reject terrorism and work together towards securing the areas they control.


from MAGHERABIA
By Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers – 23/12/12

Two Malian rebel groups on Friday (November 21st) said they were committed to suspending hostilities and holding peace talks, despite condemning the UN's approval of plans for an African-led intervention to reconquer the country's Islamist-held north, AFP reported.

Ansar al-Din and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) signed a seven-point partnership agreement in Algiers under which both parties rejected terrorism and opposed the use of military force in northern Mali.

The two groups have also engaged in talks with Mali's interim government after pledging earlier this month to respect the country's territorial integrity and root out terrorism.

Algeria, with the mediation of Burkina Faso, succeeded in getting Ansar al-Din and the MNLA to reach a deal.

Ansar al-Din's Mohamed Ag Akharib and the MNLA's Bey Diknan pledged to "refrain from any action which may lead to situations of conflict and from all forms of hostility in the areas under their control and to make every effort to honour this commitment".

After the deal was signed, both parties hailed Algeria's efforts to promote dialogue. While in Algiers, Ag Akharib said that his group "reiterates its desire for and commitment to a peaceful resolution" and praised "Algeria's efforts to resolve the Malian crisis through dialogue".

The two groups announced their intention to take steps to free hostages, provide emergency humanitarian assistance to communities and to facilitate the free movement of people and goods. Additionally, they pledged to send in forces to maintain the security of the areas they control.

Ten Europeans and three Algerians remain held hostage in northern Mali, kidnapped by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its offshoot the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) since September 2010.

The two Malian groups jointly condemned Resolution 2085 adopted on Thursday by the UN Security Council, which unanimously approved the deployment of a 3,300-strong international force in northern Mali for one year. The resolution also authorised "all necessary measures" to help the Malian government regain its full territorial integrity.

But the 15-member council insisted that military force could only be used after political efforts were exhausted. It said military plans would have to be refined and approved before any offensive started.

The Security Council also called on the transitional authorities in Bamako to re-establish constitutional order and hold elections before April 2013.

It urged them to engage in "credible" negotiations with groups in the north, including the side-lined Touaregs.

A move toward a military offensive would come in a second phase.

Mali's government hailed the Security Council decision on the intervention plan as a sign that the world would not abandon the country.

"We are grateful to the international community, a consensus has been reached on the Malian situation," said advisor to Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore.

"We are going to wage war against the terrorists and continue to negotiate with our brothers who are ready for dialogue", he added.

Another Mali politician, Mustapha Cisse, said the UN vote showed "the willingness of the international community not to abandon Mali to its own devices".

Ansar al-Din and the MNLA instead called for a "peaceful, lasting and final solution to the conflict in accordance with Islamic principles and in harmony with the true values of the people of Azawad, respecting all basic freedoms without distinction and universal rules concerning human rights".

Ag Akharib asked "Algeria and the international community to help the people of Mali in their quest for a solution to this crisis, by political rather than military means".

Algerian diplomats have sought to bring about a peaceful end to the crisis in Mali. Efforts have been made to convince neighbouring countries of the need to preserve Mali's integrity.

The conflict has so far displaced more than 400,000 people, according to the UN.

from MAGHERABIA
By Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers – 23/12/12

Related articles

• Ansar Al-Din, MNLA Sign Deal In Algiers (eurasiareview.com)
• Rival Mali rebels agree to suspend fighting (aljazeera.com)

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AQIM's senior leader arrested in Algeria

ALGIERS, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Algeria's counterterrorism forces on Monday arrested the Number Two leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Salah Gasmi, alias Mohamed Abu Salah, local media reported.
After being informed of the AQIM senior official's whereabouts in Cheurfa in Bouira province, 130 km southeast of the capital Algiers, security forces arrested him near a restaurant at around 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) Monday, TSA news website reported citing security sources.

Abu Salah is being interrogated by security services, the sources said.

Hailing from Biskra province, 420 km southeast of Algiers, Abu Salah is in charge of internal communication and coordination in the Kabylie region for AQIM, and is recognized as the Number Two leader in this al-Qaida linked organization.

Algerian counterterrorism forces have dealt heavy blows to AQIM recently. In mid-November, three AQIM militants were killed, including Makhfi Rabah, senior official in charge of military and close to AQIM's chief Abdelmalek Droukdel. In October, army forces killed Bekai Boualem, alias Khaled El Mig, who was in charge of coordination between AQIM and al-Qaida.

AQIM emerged in early 2007 from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), an Algerian armed Islamist movement. It currently operates in northwest Africa, including Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. A number of attacks were attributed to the group, including the triple suicide bomb attacks on April 11, 2007, in Algiers, which claimed the lives of 20 people and injured 222 others, according to official figures.

from XINHUA
2012-12-18 05:43:58

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Senior al-Qaida leader killed in Algeria

Map with general area of AQIM
presence in Algeria and Mali (www.nctc.gov)

ALGIERS, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A senior leader of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was among the three militants killed Friday by Algerian forces in the southern province of Bejaia, local TSA news website reported Sunday.

Citing a security source, TSA said that forensics identified one of the three militants as Makhfi Rabah, 45, who was also known as Sheikh Abdenacer.

Hailing from the province of Boumerdes, some 50 km east of Algiers, Sheikh Abdenacer was known to have been close to head of AQMI Abdelmalek Droukdel and was the commander of the group responsible for the Kabylie region (covering the provinces of Tizi Ouzou, Boumerdes, Bouira and Bejaia), the source specified.

In March 2012, an Algerian court sentenced Makhfi Rabah to death in absentia together with Droukdel and two other militants on the run.

Forensics are still working to identify the two other dead militants, the source said, adding that they might also be key members of AQIM.

from XINHUA
2012-11-19 01:42:19

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Key al-Qaida militant killed in Algeria: report

Map with general area of AQIM
presence in Algeria and Mali (www.nctc.gov)

ALGIERS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- A key militant responsible for " external relations" between al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the parent organization al-Qaida had been killed last Friday by Algeria's National People's Army (ANP), local APS news agency reported Sunday, citing security sources.

Bekai Boualem, alias "El Khaled Mig" and aged 45, was shot in an ambush on Friday by ANP forces near the village of Azrou in the town of Yakourene in Tizi Ouzou province, said the sources.

The identity of this terrorist was confirmed Sunday by his family who recovered his body at the morgue of the Hospital of Tizi Ouzou.

The terrorist had joined the Maquis terrorists at the beginning of the "Dark Decade" (1991-2001), and grew within terrorist groups that evolved in the central region of the country, particularly in Kabylia, in the forests of Akfadou and of Yakourene.

Headed by Abdelmalek Droukdel, AQIM emerged in early 2007 from Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, an Algerian armed Islamist movement. It operates in the northwest of Africa, including Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

This movement has committed numerous attacks since then.

On April 11, 2007, three suicide bombing attacks shook Algiers, one targeting the government office in downtown the capital, the second targeting a police station in Bab Ezzouar on the eastern outskirts of Algiers, while the third hitting the headquarters of National Gendarmerie. As many as 20 people died and 222 others were injured, according to official toll.

from XINHUA
2012-10-15 05:19:24

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Algerian security forces identify 28 potential suicide bombers

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ALGIERS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian counterterrorism services have set up a new list of 28 potential suicide bombers, including three Libyan militants, local Echorouk newspaper reported Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted a security source as saying that the list identifies 28 militants, bringing the number of potential suicide bombers in the North African nation from 40 to 68.

The source added that five names were added to the list early this month, including three Libyan militants identified as Abu Muhajir, Abu Sakhr and Abu Munhader.

The Libyans took advantage of the unstable security situation on borders to intrude into the Algerian territory, the source said, adding that they managed to join the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat in the desert of Algeria and became part of their suicide bomber projects.

The list has been distributed to security stations nationwide to prevent possible terror attacks, especially ahead of the parliament elections scheduled in May, the source added.

In July and August of 2011, three suicide attacks targeting military forces hit the localities of Azefoun in Tizi Ouzou province, Bordj Menaiel in Boumerdes province and Cherchel in Tipaza province, leaving dozens of people dead or injured.

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Algeria: four people killed in a bomb explosion in Boumerdes

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ALGIERS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and nine others injured Sunday in a roadside bomb explosion in Boumerdes province, 50 km east of the Algerian capital Algiers.

The local radio quoted a security source as saying that the roadside bomb exploded on the national road 12, on the point linking the localities of Isser and Bordj Menaiel, east of Boumerdes.

The source added that the bomb exploded when a bus that was behind a military patrol passed by, leaving four people dead and nine others injured.

The injured were evacuated immediately to a hospital in the nearby locality of Thnia, while the national road 12 has been temporally blocked.

Meanwhile, the local El Watan newspaper has quoted a source as saying that the bomb was likely a remote controlled one, which blew off in distance when a military convoy passed by, adding that gunshots were heard after the explosion. The newspaper said a soldier in civil uniform in the bus was killed.

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