Tag Archives: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Algerian security forces foiled a plot by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to carry out suicide attacks on US and European ships in the Mediterranean from the coast of Algeria.

Mali deployed additional troops, surveillance and fighter aircraft, and over 200 vehicles to Tinzawaten, close to the Algerian border, to provide security for a festival near Timbuktu and to deter Tuareg rebels. Yesterday al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb warned it will kill the Western hostages it holds if European countries attempt to rescue them.

Armed men believed to be members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a newly built military barracks in northeastern Mali and destroyed part of the complex. A leading Touareg separatist group in northern Mali is willing to join the fight against AQIM.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb announced the death of Abu Khabbab Abdulhaq al Qamari, a military commander and longtime jihadist. Qamari “participated in numerous large operations that shook the castles of the apostates….”

Mauritania issued an international warrant for the arrest of Moustapha Ould Limam Chavi, an opponent of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, for supporting terror groups in the Sahel region. Three other Mauritanian nationals, Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou, Elhacen Ould Khlil, and Vawaz Ould Ahmed, believed to be influential members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic […]

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s “Al Vourghan” brigade is believed to be responsible for kidnapping a Mauritanian gendarme earlier this week in Adel Bagrou. Some analysts believe the attack was led by the al Qaeda splinter group “Jamat Tawhid Wal Jihad Fi Garbi Afriqqiya” (Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa), which recently […]

Suspected al Qaeda fighters kidnapped a Mauritanian policeman near the border with Mali. The Jamat Tawhid wal Jihad fi Garbi Afriqqiya (Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa – MOJWA) has claimed it has split from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Algerian troops crossed into Mali to help Malian forces combat al Qaeda-linked groups. Such groups in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania have become more active since the dispersal of Colonel Ghaddafi’s arsenal in the region.

Algeria and Mauritania’s leaders vowed to beef up security in the Sahel region, where Islamist militants are holding a dozen Western hostages. Security analysts warn that al-Qaeda’s North African branch seeks to turn the region into “a new Somalia.”

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of five foreign nationals in two recent Mali terror attacks. But AQIM denied any involvement in the kidnapping of three aid workers from a Polisario-run refugee in Algeria.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb threatened to kill a British hostage in two weeks if their demands are not met. The British hostage was kidnapped along with an Italian, who was not shown in the video.

Security forces detained Mohamed Salem Ould Mohamed Lemine, a radical Salafist preacher who supports al Qaeda, during a raid in Nouakchott. Eighteen other Salafists were also arrested.