The Maghreb (more specifically, Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco) has been the subject of an insurgency since 2002 waged by the neo-KhawarijIslamist militia, Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, or, GSPC. The GSPC allied itself with the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb against the Algerian government. This alliance created a division within the GSPC and led to the creation of the Free Salafist Group (GSL) another militant group opposing the Algerian government and Western interests. The conflict is a continuation of the Algerian Civil War that ended in 2002, and has since spread to other neighboring countries.
End of the Algerian civil war and initial militant activities
With the GIA's decline, the GSPC was left as the most active rebel group, with about 300 fighters in 2003.[2] It continued a campaign of assassinations of police and army personnel in its area, and also managed to expand into the Sahara, where its southern division, led by Amari Saifi (nicknamed "Abderrezak el-Para", the "paratrooper"), kidnapped a number of German tourists in 2003, before being forced to flee to sparsely populated areas of Mali, and later Niger and Chad, where he was captured. Some believe that El Para actually works for the Algerian government. By late 2003, the group's founder had been supplanted by the even more radical Nabil Sahraoui, who announced his open support for al-Qaeda, thus strengthening government ties between the U.S. and Algeria. He was reportedly killed shortly afterwards, and was succeeded by Abou Mossaab Abdelouadoud in 2004.[3]
Yet certain observers have consistently argued that the claims about terrorist threats in the Sahara and an alliance between these groups and Al-Qaida are exaggerated, that certain key events were fabricated, and that much of the hype is the result of a campaign of deception and disinformation led by the Algerian government, and perpetuated by the media.[4]
2002
On May 5, 2002, 15 government soldiers are killed in an ambush near Tizi Ouzou, in the Kabylie region of northern Algeria. About 50 members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) were blamed for the assault.[5]
On June 23, 2002, militants killed 6 civilians in an attack on youths playing football near a bus station in Zeralda.[6]
On July 17, 2002, militants killed 7 civilians in Ouled Allal. Bringing the death toll of the previous three days to 22.[7]
On September 13, 2002, militants killed 11 civilians on a road in northern Algeria. The previous month, according to a toll compiled from press reports and official accounts, an estimated 140 people were killed in extremist violence, bringing to 1,070 the number of people who had been killed since the beginning of the year.[8]
On September 19, 2002, 15 people are reported to have been arrested in Kabylie under suspicion of providing money and logistical help to the GSPC[9]
On October 2, 2002, militants killed 13 civilians in a remote village in western Algeria.[10]
2003
On January 6, 2003, militants ambushed a military convoy in north-east Algeria killing 43 soldiers and wounding 19 others. Also militants attacked families near the capital, Algiers, killing 13 people.[11]
Between 22 February and 24 March 2003, the Free Salafist Group or GSL, a splinter group of the GSPC led by Amari Saïfi (Abderrazak “El Para”), allegedly captures 32 European tourists in southern Algeria. On 13 May 2003, seventeen hostages are released and 2 militants are killed in a gun battle (not sure - the release also could have been a fake) in the Algerian desert. The remaining fighters, with fifteen hostages, flee to northern Mali. After receiving a purported €5 million ransom paid by the German government,[12] the GSL/GSPC releases the fourteen remaining hostages on 19 August, 2003.[13] The fifteenth hostage, a German, died of heat exhaustion. [14]
In September 2003, Nabil Sahraoui was reported to have replaced Hassan Hattab as leader of the GSPC but other media reports have denied that any change has taken place.[15]
On November 27, 2003, in Messad, Algeria, a well-known poet and member of the extended Royal Saudi family was killed and four others were injured in an apparent terrorist attack, according to press reports.[16]
On March 9, 2004, members of the GSL/GSPC fight a gun battle with troops from Niger and Chad, supported by U.S. Special Forces, just inside Chad. 43 Salafi fighters from several West and North African countries are killed. The band's leader and the GSPC's overall number two, Amari Saïfi, escapes but is later captured by a Chadian rebel group, Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice au Tchad or MDJT).[13]
On May 2, 2004, it was reported that in the previous two days 7 members of the security forces, 6 civilians and 2 militants were killed.[17]
On May 18, 2004, two bombs exploded killing two soldiers and wounding 13 people, including four soldiers, in eastern Algeria.[18]
On June 2, 2004, insurgents ambushed an Algerian military convoy in eastern Algeria killing 10 soldiers and wounding 45 others.[19]
On June 20, 2004, Sahraoui is reported killed in gun battles with Algerian Army, along with many other high-level members of the group.[20]
On June 21, 2004, a car bomb injures 11 people and damages the main electricity plant in the capital Algiers. The GSPC claims responsibility.[21]
On June 28, 2004, the army killed three Islamic extremists in a raid near the capital, Algiers.[22]
On September 20, 2004, militants killed 4 people at a roadblock they set up.[23]
On September 29, 2004, militants attacked a civil defense post near the city of Ain Defla killing 6 members of the civil defense force.[24]
In Autumn 2004, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud (aka Abdel Malik Daroqedel, Abdelmalik Dourkdal or Abou Mossaab Abdelouadoud) succeeds Nabil Sahraoui as head of the GSPC.[25]
On October 22, 2004, militants attacked a vehicle near Medea carrying fans to a football match in the capital Algiers killing 16 people.[26]
At the end of October 2004, Amari Saïfi ("El Para") is handed over to the Libyan government, which sent him to be tried in Algeria.[13]
2005
On April 9, 2005, militants killed 14 people at a fake roadblock. In addition another 36 people, including 15 security force members have been killed since the start of March.[27]
On May 15, 2005, insurgents ambushed an army convoy in the region of Khenchela killing 12 soldiers.[28]
On June 6, 2005, days before American soldiers arrive in the Sahel region for a military exercise named "Flintlock 2005", 15 Mauritanian soldiers are killed in an attack on the Lemgheity army base on the north-eastern border with Algeria and Mali. The Mauretanian authorities blame the GSPC, pointing to a statement on a GSPC-affiliated website as evidence. Others doubt the GSPC is responsible and suspect involvement of the Algerian security forces. Mauretanian journalists say that the report has not been independently verified and that they have been denied access to the wounded in hospital.[29]
On June 9, 2005, an explosive device kills 13 local government guards in a truck in Algeria's M'sila region southeast of Algiers.[30]
On June 13, 2005, an explosive device kills 3 soldiers and 2 civilians west of Tipaza.[31]
On June 18, 2005, an explosive device killed a policeman during a police raid in El-Djer.[32]
On June 23, 2005, an explosive device kills 1 policeman on the road linking Azzefoune and Aghrib.[33]
The GSPC deputy head Amari Saïfi is imprisoned for life on 25 June 2005.[34]
On July 18, 2005, Islamist militants killed five policemen in an ambush in western Algeria.[35]
In a September 2005 interview, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud condemns the Algerian government's "peace and reconciliation agreement". He claims to have cut ties with the GSPC's founder, Hassan Hattab who supports the agreement and calls on the GSPC to lay down its arms.[25][36]
On September 25, 2005 militants killed 5 members of the security forces. Three days before 7 soldiers and 3 civilians were killed in two other attacks. Since the beginning of the month another 16 soldiers, 12 civilians and 1 policeman were killed.[37][38]
On November 17, 2005, three Algerian nationals are arrested in Naples, Italy on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. They are said to have had contacts with Salafist groups in Algeria, notably the GSPC. [39]
2006
On February 1, 2006, the Algerian daily Liberté reports that spiritual leader Ahmed Abou al-Baraa (real name Ahmed Zarabib) has been killed by Algerian government forces in the mountains near Toudja on January 17.[40]
On March 30, 2006, Hassan Hattab, a founder of the group, is reported to have called on its remaining members to accept an amnesty offered by the Algerian government.[41]
On April 7, 2006, insurgents ambushed a government convoy in a desert region of Algeria carrying customs agents killing 13 people.[42]
On April 26, 2006, a suicide bomber attacked the base of the Multinational Forces and Observers at al-Jura wounding two members of the force.[43]
On June 21, 2006, the Algerian army killed 10 Islamists in Ghzerwal.
On June 26, 2006, the Algerian army killed 19 Islamists in the eastern region of Khenchela, bring the number of people killed since the start of the latest unrest in Algeria to 53, including 36 suspected Islamists. Among the dead were also 7 soldiers killed on June 21 and 5 civilians killed on June 20.[44]
On July 20, 2006, insurgents killed 4 government municipal guards. The attack followed a similar one on July 12 when 5 guards were killed.[45]
On August 29, 2006, insurgents attacked a checkpoint in El-Kseur killing 2 policemen and 1 civilian.[46]
In October, 2006 a series of truck bombs exploded in Algiers killing three and wounding 24.[50]
On November 3, 2006 15 militants ambushed an army patrol in the Ain Defla region killing 8 soldiers.[51]
On November 9, 2006 militants ambushed an army patrol in the Bouira region killing 7 soldiers and wounding 13.[51]
On November 28, 2006 10 militants were killed in clashes in remote mountainous regions and also a week before a military helicopter was shot down by the Islamists killing 3 soldiers and 2 local guards.[52]
In December 10, 2006 a bomb tore apart a bus carrying foreign oil workers in Algiers, killing two and wounding eight.[50]
In January, 2007 Tunisia said it killed 12 GSPC militants while losing two security men. The militants allegedly planned to attack the U.S. and British embassies in Tunis.[53]
On January 5, 2007 insurgents killed 18 soldiers in an ambush south of the capital Algiers.[54]
On January 21, 2007 a roadside bomb exploded under an army vehicle in an eastern Algeria killing one soldier and wounding another eight.[55]
On January 30, 2007 5 soldiers and 10 Islamists were killed in fighting in the eastern region of Batna.[56]
On February 13, 2007 seven bombs exploded at seven police stations in the Kabylia region killing 2 policemen and 4 civilians.[50]
On March 3, 2007 a bomb hits a convoy of Russian pipeline workers, killing four Russians and three Algerians.[57]
On April 7, 2007 9 soldiers and 10 Islamists were killed in fighting in a wooded area west of the capital Algiers.[56][58]
On April 27, 2007 AQ-Maghreb acknowledged that their member Samir Saioud alias Musab Abu Abdullah had been killed 45 km east of Algiers, but denied the Algerian government's claim that he had been #2 in the organization.[59]
On May 11, 2007 in various incidents 6 Islamists, 1 soldier and 1 policeman were killed.[60]
On May 13, 2007 a bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in Constantine, Algeria killind one policeman and wounding two.[61]
On May 14, 2007 20 militants were killed in clashes near the capital.[62]
On July 11, 2007 a suicide truck bomber attacked a military barracks near Bouira, Algeria killing 10 soldiers and wounding 35.[63][64]
On September 3, 2007 during clashes in the Tebessa region five security forces members and a civilian were killed.[65]
On September 5, 2007 seven militants were killed when the army bombed a suspected militant hideout in the Tebessa region.[65]
On September 6, 2007 a bomber in Batna blew himself up among a crowd waiting to see the president Abdelaziz Bouteflika arrive on a scheduled visit to the town 430 km (270 miles) southeast of Algiers. At least 21 people including the attacker were killed. It was the first time a suicide attacker in Algeria has detonated a bomb strapped to his body, rather than using a car bomb. [66][67]
On September 8, 2007, at least 30 people were killed and 47 injured in a suicide car bomb attack on an Algerian naval barracks in the town of Dellys, 100 km (62 mi) east of Algiers. The blast was carried out by two attackers who killed themselves in the attack. At least three civilians were among the dead.[68][67]
On September 15, 2007 a bomb exploded in front of a police compound in Zemmouri, Algeria killing three people and wounding five others.[63]
On September 22, 2007 a suicide bomber wounded nine people, including two Frenchmen and an Italian, in an attack in Lakhdaria.[64]
On October 9, 2007 in clashes in Kabylia three militants, including the GSPC deputy leader, were killed.[69]
On October 15, 2007 in fighting in the Tizi Ouzou province three militants were killed.[70]
On November 16, 2007, Algerian forces killed the treasurer of al-Qaeda in Algeria, Abdelhamid Sadaoui, also known as Abou el Haythem.[69]
On January 2, 2008, a suicide attack killed at least three people in the Algerian city of Naciria, east of Algiers, police say. They say the bomber detonated his car near a police station. At least seven people were also wounded in the attack.[71]
On February 1, 2008, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, causing several injuries, including a French national. Israel condemned the attack, calling it an "act of terrorism".[72]
Al Qaeda's wing in north Africa says it killed 20 Algerian soldiers and wounded 30 in clashes in its eastern stronghold, where the army has launched a campaign against the rebels. In an Internet statement posted on March 8, the group denied a newspaper report that 25 of its fighters had been killed and played down reports its leader had been surrounded.[73]
On June 6, 2008, roadside bomb killed six soldiers and wounded four in Cap Djenat. The bombing came a day after a suicide bomber targeted a military barracks in an eastern Algiers suburb but killed only himself.[74]
On June 8, 2008, two bombs in quick succession rocked a train station in Beni Amrane, about 60 miles east of Algiers. The first bomb killed a Frenchman working on a renovation project at the station along with his driver. The second bomb came about five minutes later hitting the first responders and killing eight soldiers and three firefighters.
On July 14, 2008, a leader of Al-Qaida in Algeria was killed in a security forces raid.
On August 19, 2008, a suicide car-bomber attacked a police academy in Les Issers as recruits lined up in front of the building, 43 people were killed, only one of them a policeman.
On August 20, 2008, another two car-bombs attacked a hotel in Bouira killing 11 civilians one day after the car bomb attack in Les Issers.[75]
^ see especially the numerous writings by Jeremy Keenan, such as http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3544 or "Waging War on Terror: the Implications of America's 'New Imperialism' for Saharan Peoples, Journal of North African Studies vol. 10, no. 3 (September-December 2005), p619-648
Algeria
Morocco
Mauritania[1]
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
