Hamid Essouffi, aka Abdel Hamid Abou Zeid, the prominent Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commander, has been badly wounded in fighting with Algerian security forces in Adrar province. Zeid leads the Taregh Ibn Ziyad brigade operating in the Sahara-Sahel region that stretches throughout Mali, Mauritiania, Niger, and southern Algeria. Zeid™s brigade is responsible for the beheading of the British hostage Edwin Dyer last May.
