Tag Archives: Algeria

A court sentenced 14 Malians from Kidal and Gao to 20 years in prison for joining a terrorist group that targets Algeria, ostensibly al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The fighters had tried to enter Algeria in Illizi in January, and were arrested by authorities, who seized 74 Kalashnikovs, 41 FMs, 2 RPGs, 185 RPG […]

Interpol warned that some of the funds from Algeria’s 1.5 billion-euro illegal trading, which includes counterfeiting, black market transactions, and tax evasion, are being used to fund international terrorism. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb issued a statement claiming five attacks in the past six weeks, in Bouira, Boumerdes, and Tizi Ouzou provinces.

The Religious Affairs Ministry noted the emergence of Salafist, Wahhabi, Shiite, Ahmadi, and Takfirist movements in Algeria in recent years, and warned about the influence of the Ahmadi sect and international Zionism. The Algerian military claimed that in 2012 it killed 200 insurgents active in al Qaeda battalions, including emirs and senior leaders, and another […]

The opposition Islamist Movement for a Peaceful Society (MSP) party chose hardliner Abderrezak Mokri as its new leader during the fifth party congress, held over the weekend in Algiers. The congress was attended by Islamist leaders from Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian group Hamas. Military forces killed four Islamist militants in Tizi […]

A court in Algiers sentenced Djilali Kouri, 32, and Antar Ali, 35, to death for “founding and running a terrorist group that killed and spread terror among the population and that murdered hundreds of civilians and soldiers” during the Algerian civil war between 1996 and 2004. The two men belonged to an Islamist group that […]

Security forces have arrested four persons in Chlef province linked to the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) who are accused of recruiting for the Al Nusrah Front in Syria. One of the four suspects is the leader of the AIS, the armed wing of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS); he is also believed to have links […]

A court sentenced Mokhtar Belmokhtar and four other jihadists to death in absentia. Four other defendants were sentenced to 13 years in prison. The government denied that Ansar Dine is seeking refuge on Algerian soil as military operations are underway in Mali.

Sanda Ould Bouamama, a former Timbuktu spokesman for Ansar Dine, said he intended to surrender to Algerian authorities in Bordj Badji Mokhtar. He is seeking extradition to Mauritania.

Security forces in Ardrar province in southwestern Algeria intercepted a shipment of arms from Sabha, Libya destined for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb forces in the Malian city of Khalil, and killed five members of the allied Islamist group MUJAO who were protecting the shipment. Security forces dismantled a terrorist cell in the southern […]

Meeting in Algiers, interior ministers from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, and Portugal planned increasing cooperation on border security, refusal to pay ransoms to terrorists, and efforts against cybercrime “as an engine for the spread of terrorism.” Interior Minister Kablia said that “[a]ny terrorist who wants to attack Algeria has only […]

The governor of Medea escaped an al Qaeda assassination attempt in Mezghena on April 3; one policeman was killed and two were wounded in the attack, which also involved a bombing and the commandeering of four civilian vehicles. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb called the French claim that the terror group’s Saharan emir had […]

The army has launched its biggest offensive so far this year against al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, arresting a senior commander and several fighters who were planning to execute suicide attacks in Ghardaia. Operations are ongoing in the southern provinces of Bechar, Adrar, Tindouf, Ghardaia, Laghouat and al-Bayadh. Security forces also killed seven armed […]

After al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announced its support for unemployed Algerians in the south who have staged recent protests, the National Committee for Protection of the Rights of the Unemployed (CNDDC) issued a statement disavowing any connection with AQIM or other violent groups. The protesters stressed that their movement is peaceful, unlike that […]

The Islamist Green Bloc is preparing to select a candidate to run for president in 2014, a plan which could “could stop the harassment and attacks against Algeria.” Iraqi authorities are said to be considering the possibility of pardoning Algerian prisoners currently held in Iraq for crimes including terrorism.

Algeria condemned the recent bombing of the Al Iman mosque in Damascus, Syria. Iraq refused Algeria’s request to free 11 Algerians held prisoner in Iraq because they are “criminals” involved in terrorism and corruption.

A Tizi Ouzou court sentenced al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel and 34 other terrorists in absentia to death for the April 2011 attack on an Algerian military camp in Azazga that killed 14 soldiers. Authorities are concerned about a steep rise in child kidnappings; there were 276 such cases in Algeria […]

High-level Islamist officials linked to the Muslim Brotherhood are meeting this weekend to discuss plans, including possible unification of factions as an educational organization or a political party. The government has permitted a group of moderate imams to form their own union to promote moderate Islam and combat the rise of the Salafist movement; the […]