A group called Tawheed Intiative for Good Governance and Accountability (TIGA) has accused the Nigerian government of endorsing the mass killing of innocent men, women and children during the Boko Haram crisis. TIGA charged Umaru Musa Yar™Adua’s of avoiding a peaceful conclusion to the crisis and supporting the mass murder of civilians by ordering authorities […]
Algerian security forces killed eight suspected Islamist fighters over the weekend. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims to have conducted 29 separate attacks and bombings from early August to late September that are responsible for more than 80 casualties and injuries among Algerian security forces.
The Mauritanian army has arrested seven suspected armed men accused of being members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The men were apprehended in the remote Limaghiti region, nearly 1,100 km northeast of Nouakchott. The men were spotted conducting “suspicious movements” in two sport-utility vehicles by Mauritanian surveillance aircraft.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel has sent a letter to Abu Mohammad Maqdissi, the prominent Islamist cleric and former mentor to Abu Musab al Zarqawi who declared the usage of suicide bombings in Iraq to be illegal. Droukdel appealed to Maqdissi to open a dialogue whereupon Droukdel can ask “clarification” on […]
Security forces arrested 24 members of a “terrorist network” in various cities throughout Morocco. The suspects are alleged to be recruiting volunteers for suicide bombings in Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan, and for terrorist operations in Morocco itself. They are suspected to have connections with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, from whom they intended to […]
A 41 year old Algerian national has been arrested in Rome, Italy. He is alleged to have links to the Islamic organization, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). He is wanted by Algerian authorities for his terrorist links. Although holding an Irish passport, the man has evaded an extradition order issued by Algeria since 2003.
An Algerian newspaper has cited a “security source” who indicates that AQIM leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar has shown signs of surrendering in a peace treaty with the Algerian government. If true, it will be major blow to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb™s operations. Belmokhtar, the infamous smuggling baron, formed the semi-independent southern branch of AQIM […]
The Malian military intercepted “traffickers” in the northern desert of Mali who were attempting to cross the border with weapons destined for Islamist fighters. The weapons traffickers were of many nationalities. Mali, Algeria, and Mauritania have increased their efforts to track down Islamist fighters and armed gangs responsible for perpetuating the violence in their countries.
Thirty members of Boko Haram have been captured outside Yola, the capital of the state of Adamawa. Ten members said they have received bomb-making training in Afghanistan. The Boko Haram members have eluded the police since the uprising in late July that was responsible for 800 deaths. Boko Haram has stated that it will avenge […]
Ten Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members have surrendered to authorities. The AQIM fighters hope to take advantage of a general amnesty issued by President Bouteflika in 2006 that has expired but may be revived. Six of the surrendered fighters were members of Katibat Al-Mulathamin led by Mukhtar Belmukhtar, a prominent leader listed on […]
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is believed to have killed two paramilitary personnel and one civilian during a complex ambush on a convoy passing through Ain Defla province, which lies about 120km west of Algiers. Gunmen opened fire after a roadside bomb struck the convoy. The gunmen escaped into the woods.
Nearly 1,250 Darul-Islam sect members were deported from Minna in Niger State to their respective Nigerian states of origin. Many members were sent to Sokoto and Kano states. They were escorted by police to ensure that they had safe passage.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb released a statement offering condolences to those who lost family members in the Boko Haram uprising in northern Nigeria. AQIM praised their “Salafist, jihadist brothers in particular, led by martyr Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf” for standing against the “Christian minority in Nigeria” who are seeking to “destroy Islam and annihilate […]
Three hundred suspected members of Darul Islam, including women and children, have been deported to neighboring Niger. The deportation of the Islamic sect members is likely the beginning of the expulsion of illegal aliens participating in the Islamic sect based in Mokwa in northern Nigeria. Three thousand members of Darul Islam were detained last Saturday […]
Libya has agreed to assist Algeria and Mali in their fight against Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The agreement seeks extensive intelligence collaboration between the countries in an effort to rid the Sahara of terrorism. Regional leaders have grown more vocal about pooling resources in order to halt the upsurge of AQIM attacks.
The government announced it will launch a 4,000-strong military anti-terror campaign in the Sahara desert to root out Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The eastern Sahara in Mauritania has become a hotbed for AQIM operations over the last year. The announcement comes days before regional leaders meet to discuss cooperation in fighting crime and […]
The military killed three suspected Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members in a shootout. The military ambush occurred between Skikda and Jijel, which lies 400 km east of Algiers. The ambush was an area that has become a transit zone and refuge for many AQIM fighters.
An explosion followed by gunfire directed at a police post at a crowded beach in Tigzirt near Tizi Ouzou in northeast Algeria has left one police officer dead and two more wounded. The explosion partially destroyed the police post. Muslim fundamentalists linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are suspected of staging the attack.
Three suspected Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters were killed after their vehicles were intercepted by Algerian soldiers who were acting on a tip. The fighters were killed in the Bordj Bou Arreridj region, which lies 200 kilometers southeast of Algiers and is often exploited as a transit zone by AQIM.
Five members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb surrendered to authorities in Batna in northeastern Algeria. The surrender of the five AQIM members is associated with an amnesty offer given to terrorists who renounce violence and desire to reintegrate into civilian life. The amnesty was encouraged by former GSPC leader Hassan Hattab.
The father-in-law of Mohammad Yusuf, the slain former leader of Boko Haram, is feared dead by his family after he voluntarily surrendered to Nigerian police after receiving word that he was wanted. Yusuf™s father-in-law, a wealthy Nigerian, helped fund the construction of Boko Haram™s mosque and headquarters compound.
Algerian soldiers killed at least three Islamists during military sweeps in the woods outside Bejaia in northeastern Algeria. The Algerian soldiers were acting on a tip that Islamists were active in the area. The Kabylie region has largely avoided the Islamist insurgency in the last decade.
Eight Islamists were killed in the highland region of Batna in northeast Algeria during military sweeps. Last week, fourteen Islamists were killed in the same region by the Algerian military; the operation resulted in the discovery and destruction of a large stockpile of weapons.
A top security official revealed that the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) sent the President, prominent government officials, state governors, and pertaining security agencies 17 reports between July 14 and 17 warning that Boko Haram was poised to attack. The reports went unheeded, and Boko Haram™s uprising led to violence that claimed over 700 lives.
Prominent imams and Colonel Ahanotu, who led military operations that defeated Boko Haram, accused Nigerian authorities of ignoring their pleas to take action against the radical Islamist group long before the sect™s violent uprising. “I complained a lot of times, I was just waiting for orders,” Ahanotu charged. The sect’s uprising is responsible for more […]
Eighteen suspected Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters were killed in military operations in eastern Algeria in response to an AQIM attack that wounded 4 security officers. Authorities destroyed stockpiles of weapons that were discovered during the operations. More than 6,000 soldiers have been deployed in anti-AQIM operations in the region.
Nigerian police arrested 36 suspected members of Boko Haram in Zuba. Two members were Niger nationals. Almost 600 people have been killed in the violence engulfing more than 4 states in northern Nigeria.
Mohammad Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, was killed after being detained by Nigerian police, who claimed he had been attempting to escape. Yusuf had led the group responsible for the Islamist uprising in Northern Nigeria.
Mohammad Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, has been killed by government forces in Maiduguri, northern Nigeria. Some reports say he was killed trying to escape from police custody after being detained, but others say he died trying to escape from a shootout with Nigerian police forces.
At least 14 Algerian soldiers were killed and 20 injured by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members when their convoy was ambushed in Tipaza province, in northwestern Algeria. Attacks in west Algeria are rare. The attack may have been retaliation for the recent killing of 16 AQIM fighters in Algeria’s anti-terror campaign.