Algeria hit by surge in guerrilla violence

[Al-khiyal]

Bouira: Two terrorist funding and support networks dismantled

Bouira : Deux réseaux de soutien au terrorisme démantelés

[Al-khiyal]

Algiers, 26 April (AKI) - The leader of the Organisation of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who is in charge of the area of Algerian Sahara is ready to surrender, according to a report in Algerian daily al-Shuruq published Thursday. The paper, which quoted unnamed informed sources, said authorities are negotiating directly with the family of Mokhtar considered the Emir of the so-called Area Number Five, southern Algeria.

Belmokhtar, whose nom de guerre is Abu al-Abbas or Louar, was reportedly close to Hassan Hattab, the former leader of the now defunct Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which changed its name to Organisation of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in January after pledging allegiance to the international terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. Hattab has surrendered under a national reconciliation plan offered by Algerian authorities to end a brutal civil war in the 1990s in which an estimated 200,000 people have died.

Belmokhtar is allegedly in northern Mali, living with an Arab tribe, the al-Berrasha, also involved in the mediations which are taking place in the area of Ain Khalil, 35 kilometres from Mali's border with Algeria.

The terror suspect is reportedly demanding a passport and the cancellation of all charges against him, including a sentence to death, in exchange for his surrender.

The 11 April attacks in Algiers in which 30 people died allegedly led Belmokhtar to distance himself from al-Qaeda.

'Al-Qaeda' leader in Sahara ready to surrender - report

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, April 26 (Reuters) - Algerian armed forces shot dead the coordinator and second-in-command of Al Qaeda's North African branch on Thursday, official news agency APS reported, quoting security sources.

Samir Moussaab, whose real name is Samir Saioud, was tracked down using information gathered from ex-members of the group pardoned under an amnesty for Islamist rebels last year, APS said.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which changed its name from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat this year, claimed responsibility for twin bombings in the capital Algiers that killed 33 people on April 11.

Algeria says leading Al-Qaeda figure shot dead - APS

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS (ANP) - Het Algerijnse leger heeft donderdag bij een vuurgevecht Samir Saïoud alias Samir Moussaab doodgeschoten, de nummer 2 van de Salafistische Groep voor Prediking en Gevecht (GSPC). Dit heeft het staatspersbureau APS gemeld.

De GSPC had zich vorig jaar aangesloten bij het terreurnetwerk Al-Qaeda van Osama bin Laden. Sindsdien voert zij ook de naam "Tak van Al-Qaeda in de Islamitische Magreb''. Bij aanslagen van de GSPC op overheidsgebouwen vielen eerder deze maand 33 doden en meer dan tweehonderd gewonden.

Nummer 2 van Al-Qaeda Algerije doodgeschoten

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, Algeria: The No. 2 al-Qaida official in Algeria was killed Thursday in clash with an army patrol, the country's national radio said, citing security officials.

Samir Mousaab was killed near the village of Si Moustapha in the Boumerdes region, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the capital, Algiers, the radio reported.

The radio said Mousaab's body was identified by former members of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, an insurgent group that changed its name to al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa when it announced its alliance with al-Qaida in January.

The group was built on the foundations of an Algerian insurgency to topple Algeria's secular government that erupted in 1992 after the army canceled elections that a Muslim fundamentalist party was set to win.

Up to 200,000 people — militants, security forces and civilians — have been killed.

Thursday's clash came weeks after double suicide bombings on April 11 that killed at least 30 people in Algiers. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for the attacks, coordinated suicide bombings targeting the prime minister's office and a police station.

The attacks were the deadliest to hit the Algiers region since 2002, when a bomb in a suburban market killed 38 people and injured 80.

Algeria has tried to turn the page on the insurgency through military crackdowns and amnesty offers. Until recently, its efforts appeared successful, with militants' ranks decimated and the holdouts isolated in rural hideouts.

Reassured, foreign businesses returned to oil- and gas-rich Algeria, and many foreign workers moved out of hotels and into apartments.

Yet violence has surged again recently, and al-Qaida's North Africa wing has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks on foreigners.

A March 3 bombing of a bus carrying workers for a Russian company killed a Russian engineer and three Algerians. In December, an Algerian and a Lebanese citizen were killed in an attack that targeted a bus carrying foreign employees of an affiliate of the U.S. company Halliburton.

Report: Al-Qaida No. 2 in Algeria killed during clash with army

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The number two leader of the "North African Islamic Al Qaida" Samir Saioud, alias Samir Moussaab, was killed Thursday in the Boumerdes region, some 50 km to the east of Algeria's capital Algiers, according to police sources.

The ring leader was killed during skirmishes with an Algerian army patrol, which is currently conducting security operations in the region, according to the source quoted by the Algerian News Agency (APS).

An automatic pistol was recovered by the security forces, said the report.

"North African Islamic Al Qaida," the former Salafist Group for Call and Combat, claimed responsibility for the two car bomb attacks that occurred on April 11 in Algiers, one of which was targeting the Government Palace, killing 30 people and injuring 220 others, according to official casualty figures.

Key terrorist ring-leader killed in northern Algeria

[Al-khiyal]

April 27, 2007 -- According to well-informed sources, The No. 2 “Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” leader in Algeria was killed Thursday in a clash with a National Popular Army patrol.

Samir Saioud, alias Moussaab was killed in the Si Mustapha region in Boumerdes (eastern Algiers).

Moussaab's was identified by a repentant terrorist named “Abu Hareth”. Later, security sources confirmed the body's identity.

Samir Moussab was chief coordinator of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). He was behind the choice of “Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” to use explosives in public places.

It’s worth recalling that “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” claimed responsibility for car bomb attacks on April 11th 2007 at the government's headquarters and police stations in Algiers that killed 30 people and injured more than 200.