TERRORISM IN
THE MAGHREB
THE TRANSNATIONALISATION OF
DOMESTIC TERRORISM
ANNELI BOTHA
ISS MONOGRAPH SERIES • No 144, JUNE 2008
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iv
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
v
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND MAPS
vii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
viii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1
CHAPTER 2
Terrorism in Algeria
23
CHAPTER 3
Terrorism in Morocco
85
CHAPTER 4
Terrorism in Tunisia
111
CHAPTER 5
North African involvement in transnational terror networks
125
CHAPTER 6
Assessment of counter-terrorism strategies
173
CHAPTER 7
Conclusion
199
ANNEX
Guantanamo Bay detainees
207
BIBLIOGRAPHY
209
iii
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anneli Botha is a senior researcher on terrorism at the Institute for Security
Studies (ISS) in Pretoria. After completing an honours degree in International
Politics (1993) she joined the South African Police Service Crime Intelligence
unit, during which time she focused, inter alia, on terrorism and religious
extremism. Botha holds an MA (Political Studies) degree from Rand Afrikaans
University (1999), which focused on the historical development of terrorism,
religious extremism and PAGAD. She has a specific interest in research
on the underlying causes of terrorism, radicalisation and counter-terrorism
strategies.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the African Centre for the Study and Research of
Terrorism in Algiers, Algeria, and in particular the assistance received from
Ambassador Diara, General Tartag and Mounir Idriss Lallali. Thanks also go
to the staff at the Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian embassies who not only
made my visits possible but who were crucial in securing interviews with key
role-players and institutions in their respective countries.
A further word of special gratitude to those at the Algerian, Moroccan and
Tunisian embassies who further enriched this publication with their thoughts
and suggestions before publishing this monograph.
Disclaimer
The author has been researching terrorism in this region for a number
of years. The intention is not to be controversial, but rather to stimulate
constructive discussion on a topic that can only be described as ‘sensitive’ in
the region. The following monograph represents the opinions of the author
and not that of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
v
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
In most cases the English versions of the generally French or Arabic names
are given
ACB
Algerian Community in Great Britain
AIS
Islamic Salvation Army
ANP
National People’s Army or People’s National Army
AQLIM Al-Qa’eda Organisation for the Land of the Islamic Maghreb
AS
Moroccan Youth Association
AU
African Union
BRC
Brown and Root-Condor
DGED
General Directorate of Studies and Documentation (Moroccan
Secret Service)
DST
Moroccan Territorial Surveillance Directorate
FIDA
Islamic Front for Armed Jihad
FIS
Islamic Salvation Front
FIT
Tunisian Islamic Front
FFS
Front of Socialist Forces
FLN
National Liberation Front
GIA
Armed Islamic Group
GICM
Moroccan Islamic Combat Group
vi
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
GLD
Legitimate Defence Groups
GSC
Salafist Combat Group
GSD
Salafish Group for Jihad
GSPC
Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching
Hadith
Recollection of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad
Hamas Harakat al-Mujtam’a al-Islam
HATM
Moroccan Movement for Reform and Renewal
HDS
Defenders of Salafist Preaching
IED
Improvised explosive device
ILP
Islamic Liberation Party
LFG
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
MDA
Movement for Democracy in Algeria
MDJT
Movement for Democracy and Justice
MEI
Movement of the Islamic State in Algeria
MIA
Armed Islamic Movement
MTI
Islamic Tendency Movement
NGO
Non-governmental organisation
PLO
Palestine Liberation Organisation
Shari’a
Islamic law
Sunna
Traditions (practices) of the Prophet Muhammad
UK
United Kingdom
UN
United Nations
US
United States
vii
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND MAPS
Table 1:
Details of selected GSPC/AQLIM attacks in 2007 (excluding
suicide bombings)
Table 2:
Selected socio-economic indicators for Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia
Figure 1: Structure of the GSPC
Figure 2: Modus operandi of GSPC/AQLIM, 2005–2007
Figure 3: GSPC/AQLIM target selection, 2005–2007
Map 1:
GSPC Zones
Map 2:
Suicide operations in Algeria
Map 3:
Mobile training camps and areas of concern in Mali
Map 4:
Areas of concern in Niger
viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Terrorism on the African continent is a complex and emotional topic. One of
the primary reasons for this is that a historical introspection for any country,
or its people, that has been confronted with a conflicting past can only
be described as ‘sensitive’. In addition to international developments and
challenges, domestic circumstances predominately fuel domestic terrorism.
It will therefore be a mistake to assess the threat of terrorism in any country
in historic isolation. This is particularly true when one tries to assess and
understand the ‘renewed’ threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
This monograph will attempt to place the threat and implication of the name
change announcement of the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching
(GSPC) to al-Qa’eda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) in
context, with the primary focus on events in 2007. The name change in
itself implied that the original domestic group had transnational ambitions,
but what influenced this development and what would the consequences
be? Although this development led to immediate and extensive international
interest in the Maghreb, it became clear that most assessments focused on
the now, without appreciating the historical complexities that ultimately led
to this development.
In conducting a historical assessment, one can appreciate that while all
three countries under review were confronted with similar challenges
after independence, each country reacted in a different manner, which
impacted on the manifestation and magnitude of the threat of terrorism and
the eventual impact of the transnationalisation of domestic terrorism on
transnational terrorism. Even the way independence was gained impacted on
the psychological acceptance of violence as an acceptable strategy.
The first chapter of the monograph serves as an introduction, providing
the scope of analysis, definitions of terrorism as provided by regional
organisations, and the legal approaches of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in
dealing with the threat of terrorism. This is followed by a brief introduction to
Salafism and Wahhabism as a prologue to the philosophical background of
the organisations that will be discussed in later chapters.
Anneli Botha
ix
Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the underlying political, socioeconomic and cultural factors that influenced the formation of fundamentalist,
and later extremist, organisations in Algeria, followed by an overview of the
primary organisations that influenced the gradual escalation of violence. The
main focus will, however, be on the GSPC – its structure and activities, the
influence of al-Qa’eda in the establishment of the GSPC and al-Qa’eda’s
ever-increasing influence in the organisation. This is followed by a discussion
on the implications that the name change had on the GSPC’s tactics, reach of
activities and structure.
Although Morocco was faced with similar domestic challenges and
international developments, the monarchy was recognised by the majority of
the population. This impacted on the ability of fundamentalist and extremist
organisations to get a foothold in the country. Chapter 3, similar to the
discussion on Algeria, provides an overview of the primary role-players.
The suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003 served as a wake-up call that
a number of smaller cells did not recognised the monarchy, further driven
by international injustices and poor socio-economic conditions. In contrast
to the better structured organisations in Algeria, the suicide bombings in
2007 signified the potential threat of small cells, often involving members
of the same family, close friends and individuals formerly incarcerated for
their alleged lesser involvement in the 2003 bombings and other offences
such as drug trafficking. In addition to poor socio-economic conditions, the
state’s reaction to the 2003 bombings demonstrated the negative impact that
counter-terrorism strategies have on the radicalisation process.
Tunisia was also initially confronted with similar broad challenges as presented
in the chapters dealing with Algeria and Morocco. Similar to the Algerian
experience in which a religious-based party attempted to gain political power
through participating in the political process, the Islamic Tendency Movement
(MTI) in Tunisia attempted the same strategy. But the MTI, which changed its
name to Harakat an-Nahda, overestimated its strength while underestimating
the strength of the new government of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
Notwithstanding a number of attacks, the Tunisian government managed to
contain the threat through a dual strategy: arrest and convict those involved
while at the same time addressing the underlying causes, namely poor socioeconomic conditions and education. During a period of calm, extremists
from Tunisia had to either leave for Europe or provide assistance to extremists
in neighbouring Algeria.
Chapter 5 provides insight into the spread, threat and impact of extremists
originally from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in emerging networks in
x
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Europe. Under the protection of political asylum, extremists used freedoms
of religion, speech and assembly in Europe to establish support networks for
operations in their countries of origin. In addition to these support networks,
individuals also resorted to crime to support their operations. Ultimately,
these networks turned against their host countries. Besides a few attacks in
the 1990s, the events of 9/11 and the subsequent United States’ invasion of
Iraq in particular led to a new resolve and the involvement of nationals of
these countries as foreign fighters in this conflict. However, most indicative of
the involvement of nationals of these countries in transnational terrorism was
the Moroccan involvement in the attacks in Madrid, Spain.
Chapter 6 provides an assessment of the counter-terrorism strategies initiated
by the three countries under review. Included are topics such as: political
strategies and terrorism, with particular reference to amnesty programmes;
socio-economic restructuring; religious control and education. This is
followed by an assessment of the impact that counter-terrorism strategies such
as mass arrests had on the transnationalisation of domestic terrorism. This
chapter concludes with a brief discussion on alliances with non-state actors,
for example the Tuareg, in areas where governments and their security forces
seldom have complete control over their territories.
In conclusion, Chapter 7 reflects on a number of similar trends that influenced
the development of fundamentalist and extremist organisations in Algeria,
Morocco and Tunisia. Finally, a number of alarming trends that deserve the
attention of scholars, researchers and practitioners are highlighted.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Scope of the monograph
To the common observer, it would be relatively easy to reach the conclusion
that North Africa, in addition to East Africa, is developing as a hotspot for
terrorism-related activities in Africa. Developments since 23 January 2007,
when the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching (GSPC), headed by
Abdelmalek Droukdel, alias Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, officially announced
that it had changed its name to the al-Qa’eda Organisation for the Land of the
Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) support this analysis. Although this development did
not come as an absolute surprise considering that the GSPC had been openly
warming up towards al-Qa’eda for a number of years, analysts expected the
organisation to change both its focus and its modus operandi.
Notwithstanding this official announcement, one might even argue that the
al-Qa’eda leadership had influenced the split of the GSPC from the Armed
Islamic Group (GIA) in 1998. Although Algeria has seen a gradual decrease in
the number of deaths in the past few years, the year 2007 witnessed a change
in tactics, with particular reference to a resort to suicide attacks – a tactic
not previously familiar in Algeria. Understandably, the Algerian government
and its security forces consider the activities of GSPC/AQLIM as limited in
comparison to the height of the extremist campaign of the 1990s. Despite this
common perception, 75 people died in political violence in September 2007,
including 60 killed in suicide blasts; this was more than double the number
killed in August. By 1 November 2007, 369 people had been killed in violence
involving AQLIM and the security services in the first ten months of 2007 (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007a).
But what will this change in focus mean for the region, particularly for
neighbouring countries? Although both Morocco and Tunisia have experienced
their fair share of radicalisation and acts of terrorism in the past, it is feared that
the GSPC, through AQLIM, will change its vision to become a sub-regional
threat to neighbouring countries.
Terrorism is not a new threat to countries in North Africa. Algeria, however,
is the country with the most experience of the devastating consequences of
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
terrorism, as witnessed during the 1990s when a number of groups resorted
to terrorism as a tactic against the state and its representatives, as well as
against academics and the civilian population.
Morocco and Tunisia managed to contain the immediate threat during the
1990s through different historic and political realities as well as through
adopting different counter-terrorism strategies compared with those used in
Algeria. However, challenges to security have re-emerged in the past few
years as the result of:
•
Instability in Algeria that kept the ideals of the jihadists alive – signals of
its existence broke through in a number of attacks and assistance from
countrymen who left for Europe and provided assistance and support to
groups in neighbouring Morocco and to a lesser extent in Tunisia
•
The war in Iraq provided a new focus – particularly since individuals
and smaller groups in all three countries have realised that changing the
political landscape in their particular countries is more challenging than
they originally expected
Although it is impossible to address historical circumstances and
developments in depth, this monograph will attempt to sketch the historical
background to the emerging threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia.
The monograph will also question the hypothesis that current developments
might equally be considered as a return to the initial strategy of al-Qa’eda
in the immediate aftermath of the war in Afghanistan against the then Soviet
Union. It is commonly known that the al-Qa’eda leadership strived towards
the replacement of Muslim governments with ‘true Islamic’ governments.
Influenced by this overall idea, Afghan Mujahideen returned to their
respective countries of origin, influencing the first phase in the development
of terror organisations. In the three countries under review, this objective
proved to be more challenging than originally thought in the 1990s.
Despite this common observation, it is essential to analyse the origins,
manifestation and threat of terrorism in order to begin to understand the
threat and implications of terrorism to the three countries in the Maghreb,
namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and
Nigeria will be only briefly referred to. The following brief historical overview
of the development of the threat of terrorism in the Maghreb is therefore
intended to do no more than to allow current developments to be assessed.
Anneli Botha
3
The primary focus of the monograph will be on developments during 2007,
supplemented by a historical context.
It should be noted, however, that factors influencing the threat and
manifestation of terrorism also include history and culture, the political
system in place, a growing belief that the current secular regimes are unable
to deal with poverty and corruption, and the counter-terrorism strategies
employed. It would therefore be a mistake to study and analyse terrorism
without considering these factors.
In addition to the development and threat of terrorism in the countries under
review, nationals of these countries have been implicated in a number of acts
and terrorism plots in other countries, particularly in Europe. Additionally,
the invasion of Iraq by the US further stimulated the development and
spread of recruitment networks in these and other countries. Both scenarios
contribute to the question of whether terrorism in the Maghreb is being
transnationalised. They also open the debate to include questions relating to
radicalisation and its impact on stability in the countries of the region, as well
as to other countries indirectly affected.
This monograph will therefore deal with the following themes:
•
The history of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia – reasons,
motivations and primary role-players
•
The influence of nationals of the three countries under review on
transnational terrorism
•
An assessment of the success of counter-terrorism strategies in Algeria,
Morocco and Tunisia
This introduction briefly focuses on issues that are common to the three
countries under discussion. In addition to their understanding of the terms
terrorism, Salafism and Wahhabism, all three countries are occupied by
Muslim communities. Essentially the last point is of interest since Islamist
organisations call for the replacement of these governments with ‘truly Islamic’
governments. Historically, Islamic political thought by both Shi’a and Sunni
scholars has contemplated how an Islamic leader should govern. This chapter
will therefore also briefly refer to the responsibilities of the head of state and
whether rebellion against the head of state can be justified. This discussion
indicates that Islamic political thought exists beyond the philosophy and
doctrine of al-Qa’eda.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Terrorism definitions
Recognising that the international community could not come up with a
single definition of terrorism, reference is made to the concept as seen by the
African Union (AU) and the Arab League. Although Algeria and Tunisia are
both members of the AU, Morocco has suspended its membership. All three
countries are, however, members of the Arab League.
According to the Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) Convention on the
Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, 1999 (the Algiers Convention), a
terrorist act under Article 1(3) is:
... constituted by any act or threat which is in violation of the
criminal law of the member state, likely to endanger the life,
physical integrity, liberties of a person or a group of persons,
which causes or may cause damage to private or public property,
to natural resources, to the environment or to cultural heritage and
with the intention:
• To intimidate, provoke a situation of terror, to force or exercise
pressure or to lead any government organisation or institution
or persons or groups thereof to make any initiative or to abstain
thereof, to adopt, to renounce a particular position or to act
according to certain principles
• To interfere with the normal functioning of public services, the
supply of essential services to the public and to create a crisis
situation among the population
• To start a general insurrection in a member state
• To promote, sponsor, contribute, order, assist, incite, encourage,
attempt, threat, conspire, organise or equip any person with the
intention to commit any act mentioned above.
The convention does not consider the struggle for self-determination or the
struggle against colonialist occupation, aggression and domination by foreign
forces as terrorist acts. At the same time, the convention specifies under Article
3 (1 and 2) that no political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious
or other motives can ever justify terrorist acts envisaged by the convention.
Member states must according to the convention review their legislation in
order to adapt it to the terms of the convention.
The Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, 1998 (Cairo) (League
of Arab States 1999), defines terrorism in Article 1 as:
Anneli Botha
Any act or threat of violence, whatever its motives or purposes, that
occurs in the advancement of an individual or collective criminal
agenda and seeking to sow panic among people, causing fear by
harming them, or placing their lives, liberty or security in danger, or
seeking to cause damage to the environment or to public or private
installations or property or to occupying or seizing them, or seeking to
jeopardize a national resource.
Article 2 further stipulates – on lines similar to the OAU convention – that:
All cases of struggle by whatever means, including armed struggle,
against foreign occupation and aggression for liberation and selfdetermination, in accordance with the principles of international law,
shall not be regarded as an offence. This provision shall not apply to
any act prejudicing the territorial integrity of any Arab state.
A further exclusion under Article 2(b) is that:
None of the terrorist offences indicated in the preceding article
shall be regarded as a political offence. In the application of this
convention, none of the following offences shall be regarded as a
political offence, even if committed for political motives:
i.
Attacks on the kings, Heads of State or rulers of the Contracting
States or on their spouses and families;
ii.
Attacks on crown princes, vice-presidents, prime ministers or
ministers in any of the Contracting States;
iii. Attacks on persons enjoying diplomatic immunity, including
ambassadors and diplomats serving in or accredited to the
Contracting States;
iv. Premeditated murder or theft accompanied by the use of force
directed against individuals, the authorities or means of transport
and communications;
v.
Acts of sabotage and destruction of public property and
property assigned to a public service, even if owned by another
Contracting State;
vi. The manufacture, illicit trade in or possession of weapons,
munitions or explosives, or other items that may be used to
commit terrorist offences.
5
6
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
The Algerian approach
Algeria moved away from having dedicated legislation to address terrorism
to addressing terrorism as a criminal act within the Penal Code. The reason
is that during 1992 Algeria was accused of being too harsh in its fight
against terrorism, often in contradiction to human rights. Legislative Decree
No 92-03 of 30 September 1992 on combating subversion and terrorism
has been amended and supplemented by Legislative Decree No 93-05 of
9 April 1993, while the Penal Code and the Code of Penal Procedure have
also been amended to strengthen the country’s legislation in countering
terrorism.
Algeria’s predominant focus has been on domestic terrorism and the threat
of terrorism against state security. Article 1 of Decree No 93-03 (reproduced
in article 87 bis of Ordinance No 95-11 of 25 February 1995 amending and
supplementing Ordinance No 66-156 of 8 June 1966 enacting the Penal
Code) defines a subversive or terrorist act as:
... any offence targeting state security, territorial integrity or the stability
or normal functioning of institutions through any action seeking to:
• Spread panic among the public and create a climate of insecurity
by causing emotional or physical harm to people, jeopardising
their lives or freedom or attacking their property;
• Disrupt traffic or freedom of movement on roads and obstruct
public areas with gatherings [this was in response to roadblocks
as a modus operandi used by the GIA and the GSPC];
• Damage republican symbols and profane graves;
• Harm the environment, means of communication or means of
transport;
• Impede the activities of public authorities and bodies serving the
public, or the free exercise of religion and public freedoms;
• Impede the functioning of public institutions, endanger the lives or
damage the property of their staff, or obstruct the implementation
of laws and regulations.
Article 2 (reproduced in article 88 bis 3 of the Penal Code) equates the
following with terrorist acts:
•
The establishment of associations, bodies, groupings or organisations for
the purpose of engaging in subversive or terrorist activities
Anneli Botha
7
•
Membership of or participation in such subversive or terrorist associations
in any form
•
Advocating terrorism and encouraging or funding terrorist activities
•
Reproducing or disseminating documents, recordings or printed matter
advocating terrorism. [This is a reference to Article 12(n) of the AU Plan
of Action that calls on member states to ‘take adequate measures to
prevent and outlaw the printing, publication and dissemination, by one
or several persons residing on the territory of any member state, of news
items and press releases initiated by apologists of terrorist acts which are
prejudicial to the interest and security of any other member state’]
Ordinance No 95-11, referred to above, amended the Penal Code to reflect
new realities and the development of terrorist activities at transnational levels,
with a view to incorporating the following into the definition of a terrorist:
•
Any Algerian who participates in or enrols abroad in a terrorist or
subversive association, grouping or organisation, whatever its form or
name, even if its activities are not directed against Algeria
•
Any person who sells, purchases, distributes, imports or manufactures
knives for illegal purposes
•
Any person who possesses, obtains, carries, markets, imports, exports,
manufactures, repairs or utilises prohibited weapons, ammunition or
explosives without authorisation from the competent authority
Pursuant to Ordinance No 95-11, Algeria’s lawmakers amended and
supplemented the Penal Code through provisions concerning all forms of
justification, encouragement and financing of terrorist acts. Article 87 bis 4
of the code criminalises the justification of terrorism: ‘Anyone who justifies,
encourages or finances the acts covered by this section by any means shall
be subject to penalties of five to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of DA
500 000’ (UN Security Council 2007:4).
Article 87 bis 5 deals with the reproduction or dissemination of printed
documents or recordings that incite terrorist acts: ‘Anyone who knowingly
reproduces or disseminates printed documents or recordings that seek to
justify the acts covered by this section shall be subject to five to ten years’
imprisonment and a fine of DA 100 000 to DA 500 000’ (UN Security
Council 2007:4).
8
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Article 87 bis 10 criminalises the use of mosques beyond their intended
purpose: ‘Anyone who, through preaching or by any other action, conducts
an activity contrary to the noble mission of the mosque or likely to undermine
social cohesion or to seek to justify and advocate the acts envisaged in this
section’ establishes a penalty of 3 to 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of DA
50,000 to 200,000. (UN Security Council 2007:4).
In dealing with the involvement of Algerians in transnational terrorism, the
recruitment abroad of any Algerian to a terrorist organisation is punishable
by law in accordance with Article 87 bis 6: ‘Any Algerian who is active or
enrolled in a terrorist or subversive association, group or organisation abroad,
whatever its structure or name, even if its activities are not directed against
Algeria, shall be subject to ten to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of DA
500 000 to DA 1 000 000.’
Algeria is also opposed to the granting of political asylum to terrorists, who
often invoke political considerations in applying for documents allowing
them to reside in host countries, particularly referring to the use of European
countries as a base of operations. The Penal Code’s scope of application
has therefore been expanded to include the activities of Algerians residing
abroad, even in the case of offences that are not directed against Algeria (UN
Security Council 2007:4).
The Moroccan approach
Morocco defines an act of terrorism as ‘any crime committed intentionally
in relation to an individual or collective activity with the goal of causing
serious disruption of public order by intimidation, terror or violence’ (Agence
France-Presse [AFP] 2003). According to a report submitted by Morocco to
the Counter Terrorism Committee (2003:7): ‘Moroccan legislation does not
provide for any proceedings against a foreigner located in Morocco if he has
committed a terrorist act abroad against a state other than Morocco or against
the government of that state.’ However, the foreigner may be extradited to
the particular country under a bilateral agreement.
Articles 748–756 of the Code of Penal Procedure deal with jurisdiction
concerning certain offences committed outside the Kingdom of Morocco:
Moroccan courts are competent to try any Moroccan and any person
who has acquired Moroccan nationality for criminal acts committed
outside Moroccan territory that are defined as crimes or offences, if
Anneli Botha
9
the alleged guilty party returns to Morocco and is unable to prove
that he was the subject of an irrevocable decision (Article 751).
Prosecution in Morocco is possible even if the alleged guilty party
obtained Moroccan nationality after carrying out a criminal act (UN
Security Council 2002:6).
Terrorist acts and advocacy of terrorism are criminalised under Article 218 bis
of Act 03-03 of 28 May 2003, which established that:
... advocacy of acts constituting terrorist offences by speeches,
shouts or threats uttered in public places or meetings, or by written
or printed matter sold, distributed or offered for sale or exhibited
in public places or meetings, or by public messages using various
audiovisual and electronic media, shall be punishable by two to six
years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 to 200,000 dirhams (UN
Security Council 2006a:5).
Addressing the threat that publications can be used to incite hatred and
terrorism, Article 3 of Dahir No 1-58-378 of 15 November 1958 promulgated
the Press and Publishing Code (supplemented by Act 77-00 enacted by Dahir
No 1-02-207 of 3 October 2002), which stipulates that:
... anyone using one of the means mentioned in Article 38 to incite
racial discrimination, hatred or violence against one or more persons
on the grounds of race, origin, colour, ethnic or religious affiliation, or
supporting war crimes and crimes against humanity, shall be punished
by imprisonment for a term of one month to one year and a fine of
3,000 to 30,000 dirhams, or by only one of these two penalties (UN
Security Council 2006a:5).
The Tunisian approach
On 10 December 2003 Tunisia passed Act No 75 of 2003 concerning support
for international efforts to combat terrorism and prevent money laundering.
Article 1 provides that the law shall guarantee the right of society to live in
security and peace, protected from anything that may undermine its stability,
and to reject all forms of deviance, violence, fanaticism, racial segregation
and terrorism that threaten the peace and stability of societies. This Act
also contributes to supporting the international effort to combat all forms
of terrorism, tackling the sources of financing of terrorism and suppressing
money laundering within the framework of the international, regional and
10
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
bilateral conventions ratified by Tunisia and in compliance with constitutional
guarantees. Article 5 of the Constitution of Tunisia guarantees fundamental
freedoms and human rights in the universal, global, complementary and
interdependent sense (UN Security Council 2006:4; 7).
Article 11 of Act No 75 of 2003 provides as follows:
Anyone who incites the commission of a terrorist offence or conspires
to commit such an offence, or intends to commit such an offence,
where the intention is accompanied by any act preparatory to the
commission of such an offence, shall be guilty of a terrorist offence
(UN Security Council 2006:7).
Several sections of Tunisia’s Criminal Code are also relevant. These include
the following:
•
Section 52. ‘Any crime relating to an individual or collective project
aimed at damage to persons or property for the purpose of intimidation
or to cause alarm shall be categorised as terrorist. Acts of incitement to
hatred or racist or religious fanaticism shall also be dealt with as terrorist
offences, whatever the means used.’
•
Section 72. ‘Any person who perpetrates an attack with the intention of
changing the form of government or provoking armed attacks among the
population or disorder, slaughter or looting in Tunisian territory shall be
liable to execution.’
•
Section 74. ‘Any person who assembles and arms groups, or leads armed
groups, for the purpose of plundering the assets of the state or individuals
or seizing or destroying movable or immovable property shall be liable to
execution. This same penalty shall apply to any person who by force or
otherwise prevents the police from putting down such attacks.’
•
Section 131. ‘The formation of any group for any period, with any number
of members and on the basis of any agreement reached, for the purpose
of preparing or committing an attack against persons or property shall be
deemed to constitute a crime against public security.’
•
Section 133. ‘Any person who deliberately prepares a meeting place for
members of a criminal group, assists them with money or in benefiting
from the proceeds of their criminal actions, or provides them with
lodging or a hiding place shall be liable.’
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Dealing with incitement of terrorism, Article 6 of Act No 2003-75 provides
that ‘acts of incitement, by whatever means, to hatred or racial or religious
fanaticism are subject to the same regime as offences that are classified as
terrorist acts’ (UN Security Council 2006:3).
Article 42 of Organic Act No 93-85 of 2 August 1993, amending the Press
Code, provides that ‘anyone who, through the press or by any other intentional
means of dissemination, directly incites the perpetrator or perpetrators to
commit a serious or minor offence, where such incitement results in the
commission of such an offence, shall be considered an accomplice to the
said offence’ (UN Security Council 2006:3).
Article 44 of the Press Code establishes a penalty of imprisonment for a term of
two months to three years and a fine of 1 000 to 2 000 dinars ‘for anyone who,
by the means referred to in Article 42, directly incites hatred among races,
religions or peoples, the dissemination of opinions based on racial segregation
or religious extremism, the commission of the offences set out in Article 48 of
this Code, or the infringement of laws’ (UN Security Council 2006:3).
Article 5 of the Act Concerning Mosques of 3 May 1988 prohibits any
activity in mosques ‘in the form of speeches, meetings or writing, by persons
other than those belonging to the body responsible for running the mosque’
(UN Security Council 2006:7).
Reflecting domestic realities, Tunisia places emphasis on the role and
boundaries of political parties. As will be discussed in the chapter dealing with
Tunisia, political parties ‘may not base their principles, purposes, activities or
programmes fundamentally on any religion, language, race, sex or region’.
Article 2 of Organic Act No 88-32 of 3 May 1988, concerning the organisation
of political parties, provides that political parties shall act within the bounds of
the constitution and the law. ‘They shall also prohibit all forms of violence, as
well as fanaticism, racism and all other forms of discrimination. Political parties
may not base their principles, activities or programmes fundamentally on any
religion, language, race, sex or region’ (UN Security Council 2006: 4).
Salafism
The word salafi refers to the companions of the Prophet Mohammed or the
sahaba and the first three generations (610–661). In reaction to the decline of
the Ottoman Empire and the advances of the West, Muslim scholars such as
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1838–1897) and Muhammad Abdu were concerned
that the Muslim world was lagging behind – particularly since the different
Muslim schools of thought ‘closed the gates of ijtihad’ (interpretation). Instead,
Muslims blindly followed the interpretations of the four schools of Sunni Islamic
jurisprudence (Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi). Salafism subsequently called
for a return to the original sources of Islam, the Qur’an and the practices of the
Prophet Mohammed in interpreting modern realities (Hafez 2007:65).
Mandaville (2007:248–249) made a distinction between three forms of
Salafism:
•
Salafi quietists ‘emphasise the importance of individual adherence to
proper thought, practice and Shari’a, but reject the idea of actively
pursuing an Islamic political order as a distinct religious duty unto itself;
to do so would lead one to emphasise the pursuit of worldly power at the
expense of piety and religious obligation. The correct Islamic society will
emerge when Muslims have collectively adopted this correct method’
•
Salafi Islamists ‘believe in the active pursuit of an Islamic political order
(…) violence may be necessary under specific conditions’. Influenced
by the thoughts of Sayyid Qutb, scholars moved to Saudi Arabia and
merged with Wahhabi thinking leading to this interpretation
•
Salafi jihadists ‘combine the political imperatives of the Salafi Islamists
with a conviction that contemporary circumstances make violent
struggle an individual duty incumbent upon all Muslims’. This school
of thought disregards the other interpretations because quietists as
well as Islamists ‘are willing to work within the political system’.
Jihadists, for their part, argue that these political systems are under the
control of infidels, making it illegitimate to work within the process.
In other words, jihad is considered to be an obligation against infidel
regimes that do not rule according to God’s laws, including Muslim
governments which violate God’s sovereignty (because they do not
rule in accordance with the Qur’an) classified as takfir. This school
also justifies jihad against Shi’a Muslims as well as people working
for ‘apostate’ regimes. ‘(…) jihad is continuous until all of humanity
submits to Islam or the authority of Muslim rule. Jihad is therefore an
aggressive doctrine, not a defensive concept. It persists until Judgement
Day’ (Hafez 2007:65)
Mandaville (2007:246–249) and Hafez (2007:66–70) identify the following
key features of the Salafi approach:
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•
Emphasis on the concept of tawhid (unity of God). In addition to the
daily proclamation that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammed
is his messenger, Salafism argues that this proclamation should also be
a way of life
•
The foundation of Salafism is the Qur’an, the Sunna and the Hadiths of
those authors whose authenticity is not questioned
•
Salafism place a renewed emphasis on God’s sovereignty (hakimiyyat
allah) in that God is the only law-giver who can decide between right
and wrong as revealed in the Qur’an. ‘Conversely, altering, ignoring or
nullifying God’s revelation is violating God’s sovereignty and subverting
his will. Salafists also believe that the Qur’an is the comprehensive
guidance of God on matters of worship (ibadat) and social relations
(muamalat, economics, warfare, marriage, taxes), as well as in the
universalism of the Qur’an and its applicability in all places on earth and
at all times’ (Hafez 2007:67)
•
Ideologies such as Marxism, liberalism and humanism contradict
the sovereignty of God. Salafism denies the need for new sources of
interpretation
•
Salafism rejects all forms of innovation (bid’a). In other words, the Qur’an
as the last revelation of God should be read and followed literally. Sufi
rituals such as the visiting of graves and other practices are considered as
contradicting the regulations and stipulations on the practice of religion.
Essentially, any practice not referred to in the Qur’an should not be part
of Islam
•
Salafism rejects the notion that there are different schools of jurisprudence
or different interpretations of religion
•
Salafism rejects the blind following of jurisprudential practice. Instead, it
calls for a constant ijtihad – not permitting individual interpretations, but
rather going back to the original sources
•
Categorising fellow Muslims as takfir or non-Muslim is important in justifying
the use of violence against fellow Muslims, which is not permitted in Islam.
Salafists believe that the actions of Muslims can place them beyond the
realm of Islam. Different interpretations exist on when a Muslim can be
regarded as takfir (derived from kafir = infidel or unbeliever). They however
distinguish themselves from Khawarij and Murjiah. Khawarij claimed that
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
‘anyone who violates God’s word and rules by something other than God’s
command is no longer a Muslim; he is an apostate’. Murjiah argued that
‘as long as a person publicly declares he or she is a Muslim, no one can
declare that person to be otherwise; it is up to God to judge people’s faith’
(Hafez 2007:69). Salafis differ from Murjiah in that a mere declaration is
insufficient, particularly when a person’s actions contradict and even reject
the Qur’an. Salafi jihadis however argue that a Muslim can be classified as
takfir after he has been warned that his actions and verbal statements fall
beyond the framework of Islam
In addition to providing details of Salafi scholars, the following discussion will
briefly reflect on the primary contributions of a few key thinkers who have
influenced the philosophy of organisations in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
(as well as many other groups throughout the world):
•
Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani (1839–1897) believed that ‘if a ruler is a man of
knowledge, statesmanship, courage and high purpose, he rules his nation
with justice and creates better living conditions for the masses’. However,
if the ruler is unjust and tyrannical, if disorder, misery and frustration
prevail, what is to be done? Afghani believed that if ‘people in such a
country have still some life in them, their leaders and representatives
of public opinion will overthrow the ruler’ (Siddiqi 1993:114). In other
words, Afghani believed in the right of revolt
•
Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905) proclaimed that the unity of God was ‘the
cornerstone of Islamic belief and the source of the Muslim community’s
strength and vitality’ (Esposito 1988:132). He also emphasised that
Muslims should have confidence in taking religion into their own
hands, following the lead of the early companions of the Prophet
Mohammed, particularly after his death (Mandaville 2007:248). Abduh
held that the transformation of the Muslim community depended on the
reinterpretation of Islam and its implementation through education and
social reforms (Esposito 1988:133). However, he also believed that the
community had the right to depose the ruler if he was not just and the
general welfare demanded it. In summary, Abduh believed that the crisis
of modern Islam was precipitated by the failure of Muslims to uphold the
distinction between the immutable and the mutable, the necessary and
the contingent. It was particularly Rashid Rida (see the next entry) who
became the mouthpiece for Abduh’s viewpoints (Siddiqi 1993:115)
•
Rashid Rida (1865–1935), a follower of Ibn Taymiyya, believed that a
modern Islamic legal system was necessary and that the implementation
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of Islamic law required an Islamic government, since law was the product
of consultation between the ruler (caliph) and the guardian-interpreters
of law (the ulama). The Muslim political system had decayed as a result
of an absence of shura (consultation) (Siddiqi 1993:118). The reservation,
however, existed that the ulama was backward and ill equipped to
understand the modern world. To reinforce the role of Islam, the caliphate
had to introduce pan-Islamic unity. Rida presented a more conservative
approach towards the West and even considered Britain as a political
and religious threat to Islam. As an admirer of the Wahhabi movement
in Arabia, Rida was more inclined to emphasise the self-sufficiency and
comprehensiveness of Islam, encouraging the return to the basic principles
as presented in the Qur’an, Sunna and Hadith of the Prophet. In rejecting
Western secular liberalism and in emphasising the self-sufficiency of Islam,
Rida influenced the thinking of Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt (Esposito 1988:134-135). Essentially, Rida established
the idea of a modern Islamic state and the ‘compatibility’ of the Shari’a
with modern political realities (Mandaville 2007:248)
•
Sayyid Qutb equated Salafism with violent struggle. He confirmed
and established certain core precepts concerning governance – most
significantly stating that ‘the oneness and sovereignty of God preclude
human rule, which should be violently overturned if necessary, and that
the only legitimate form of government over Muslims is an Islamic state
headed by a caliph’ (Atwan 2006:66). Qutb introduced an intellectual
paradigm in explaining reality. The terminology he introduced included:
– Jahiliyya, which referred to a period of ignorance delivered from the
period prior to the revelation of Islam in Arabia. Qutb referred to the
period of repression under Nasser as jahiliyya, which implied that the
Egyptian government was classified as takfir (Kepel 2003:31)
– Hakimiyya, which was the legislative exclusiveness of God’s law.
Qutb said that the nation was not entitled to legislate at will, and
that Muslim scholars had confused the act of exercising power with
that of its source. In other words, ‘people do not possess, nor do
they delegate, the right of sovereignty. Rather they implement what
God has legislated in accordance with His exclusive authority. In this
sense, Islam must first be restituted, then discussions of technical
procedure, such as elections, can proceed. Political power has to be
gained before all other considerations’ (Choueiri 1996:20)
– Al-Gama’a al-mu’mina, which was the community of believers
– Al-Infisal al-shu’uri, which was translated as ideological separation
Categorising current Muslim communities as jahili for not implementing
the Shari’a, Qutb called for a community of believers who should separate
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
themselves ideologically, but not physically, from the rest of the community
working towards implementing Islamic values. Qutb also considered
democracy as a direct violation of God’s sovereignty, particularly since
people are responsible for their own legislation (Choueiri 1996:20)
•
Mawlana Mawdudi (1903–1979) referred to ‘Islamisation from above’,
through a state in which sovereignty would be exercised in the name of
Allah and the Shari’a would be implemented. He declared that politics
was ‘an integral, inseparable part of the Islamic faith, and that the Islamic
state that Muslim political action seeks to build is a panacea for all their
[Muslims’] problems’. For him the five traditional Pillars of Islam (profession
of faith, prayer, Ramadan, pilgrimage and almsgiving) were merely ‘phases
of training and preparation for jihad, the struggle against those of Allah’s
creatures who have usurped His sovereignty’ (Kepel 2003:34)
Wahhabism
Wahhabism, which is often considered as a variant of Salafism, is named
after Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792), who was trained in law,
theology and Sufism at Mecca and Medina, where he was drawn to the
Hanbali school and the writings of Ibn Taymiyya (d 1328). Esposito (1988:120)
summarises his ideas as follows:
The Wahhabi diagnosis was similar to that of other revivalists. The
political weakness of the community and its moral decline were due
to a departure from the straight path of Islam. Its cure was equally
obvious; its task was clear. Muslims must return to true Islamic
practice. This could be achieved only by repetition of Islam’s first great
reformation, the social and moral revolution led by Muhammad, a
return to community life based strictly on the Qur’an and the example
of Muhammad and the Medinan community (...) the purpose of ijtihad
was a return to a purified Islam by weeding out those un-Islamic beliefs
and practices that had infiltrated the law and life of Muslims.
After establishing an alliance with the Saud, a powerful tribal family, Wahhab
and the Saud family initiated a campaign to consolidate other tribes under
this interpretation. This campaign included the use of violence against fellow
Muslims (and influencing their interpretation of takfir):
In order to legitimise attacks against other clans which were also Muslim,
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab had to be able to make a case that the non-Islamic
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practices followed by these groups had effectively placed them outside
the remit of religion; in other words, that by incorrect religious practice
they had made themselves into infidels (in which case the strictures
against Muslims using violence on fellow Muslims no longer applied).
[As a result] Wahhabi scholars lay great emphasis on differentiating true
believers from infidels in the name of justifying political expansion and
the use of violence against other Muslims. This has led to an emphasis
among Wahhabis on the practice of takfir (Mandaville 2007:153; 247).
Subsequently, Wahhabism was considered by other Muslims as intolerant in
that its ideological principles, with particular reference to takfir, influenced
modern interpretations in justifying violence and jihad against fellow Muslims
and governments, which, according to their interpretation, do not govern in
accordance with the Qur’an and Sunna. Merging Wahhabism and the Salafi
jihadi movements, a line can be drawn particularly to the GIA and AQLIM,
which justify the indiscriminate use of violence against fellow Muslims and
current governments.
Conclusion
Although we cannot here enter into a full discussion of the relationship
between a government or state on one hand and religion on the other, the
following summary is important.
Islamic extremists believe that the establishment of an Islamic system of
government is not merely an option, but a requirement, based on God’s
command. In practical terms, Muslims are under an obligation to implement
and follow God’s law. Since the legitimacy of Muslim governments is based on
the Shari’a, those who do not implement and follow it to the letter are regarded
as illegitimate. Those governments and individuals who fail to follow Islamic
law are not regarded as being Muslim, and this provides sufficient grounds for
a legitimate jihad. Opposition to illegitimate governments also extends to the
official religious establishments that are used to legitimise government policies
and actions. To rectify the current state of affairs, reformists began to call on
Muslims to reject paid imams (those who lead prayers) and to abolish muftis
and ministers of Islamic affairs or Awqaf. Opposing nationalism would include
abolishing state-owned mosques and the removal of nationalist symbols from
mosques.
Conversely, governments (often regarded as illegitimate) control the religious
establishment primarily for the following political reasons:
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
To provide credibility or legitimacy to the government
•
To excuse the behaviour of the government or even to justify it
•
As a strategy to counter religious opposition from the local community
•
If the religious establishment is under the control of the government,
it will not criticise it, at least in practice. The assumption is that the
official religious authority would not issue statements contradicting the
government for fear of being replaced, thereby limiting the possibility of
objectivity and representation
This raises the question of what is expected of a legitimate Islamic government.
Based on the Qur’an and the example set by the Prophet Muhammad and
the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, a ruler’s obligations are both practical and
religious. Traditionally, the head of state has religious as well as political
responsibilities, which should be placed in context by an agreement between
himself and his subjects (Dadoo 2001:25-26).
Religious responsibilities include:
•
The protection of Islam as a religion
•
The responsibility to wage war against those who openly wage war
against Islam, depending on available resources
•
The appointment of both the callers to prayer as well as the imams. The
head of state is also responsible for the general maintenance of mosques
and, when he is available, for leading prayers. His responsibilities also
include the appointment of people to oversee the pilgrimage to Mecca.
These responsibilities received renewed attention with the decision to use
mosques to ensure political obedience while heads of state did not adhere to
their other responsibilities.
Political responsibilities include:
•
Safeguarding peace and general order in defence of the country (a
function of the military) and the protection and safeguarding of life and
property (a function of the police)
•
Establishing justice through the formation of a penal code to ensure that
people’s rights are protected and Islamic symbols are not violated
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•
The appointment of honest civil servants
•
Protecting freedom. Freedom and the protection of human dignity under
all conditions are considered an inalienable right. The ruler is under
an obligation to protect and guarantee freedom in all fields, including
religion, thought, speech and political life. Freedom of thought allows for
freedom of opinion, criticism and speech. Freedom of expression applies
to all activities
Grounds for political dissent against a Muslim government question the
legitimacy of both the declaration that jihad against a fellow Muslim that
is traditionally regarded as unacceptable, and also of the Qur’anic call on
Muslims to respect and adhere to those placed in positions of authority.
According to most extremists, legitimacy of Muslim governments is based
on the Shari’a, thus those governments that do not follow it are illegitimate.
Those who fail to follow the Shari’a – both governments and individuals –
are guilty of unbelief. They are no longer Muslims, but are atheists whose
unbelief demands jihad.
This is the basis on which extremists, including, for example, the GIA in
Algeria, legitimise the call of a jihad against fellow Muslims. Any country that
is not governed according to Islamic principles although the majority of its
population are Muslim, serves as a fertile ground for extremist organisations.
For example, in the pamphlet published by the jihad organisation responsible
for the assassination of President Sadat of Egypt, reference was made to
jihad as ‘the absent duty’. The author of the pamphlet, Abd al-Salim Faraj,
regarded Sadat as an unbeliever and based his argument on the fatwa of
Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328), who argued that the profession of faith is not
sufficient when Muslims apply their own law instead of the Shari’a. Despite
demands from Islamic groups to rule in accordance with the Shari’a, the
Egyptian government based its rule on Western principles. It could thus not
be regarded as Islamic and, according to Faraj, it was the ‘individual duty of
all Muslims to rise in armed rebellion against this heathen regime in order to
replace it with an Islamic one’ (Peters 1996:8).
In assuming that sovereignty belongs only to God, one needs to establish
Islam’s basis for leadership. In Islam those who are in government are
regarded as trustees, and do not have a different status before God from the
rest of the population. The head of state is not above the law and should be
open to scrutiny. One may therefore presume that despotism should be ruled
out as an Islamic form of government. As with Western political thought,
Islamic philosophers have questioned whether an unjust leader should be
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
obeyed and what basis exists for revolt against such a leader. As well as being
an important aspect of the ideal Islamic political system, this also introduces
more recent claims by Islamic extremists justifying revolt against both Islamic
governments and non-Islamic or secular governments.
During emergencies, the head of state is allowed to resort to measures that,
while not contradicting the Qur’an, the Sunna or the consensus of the jurists,
have the objective of protecting religion, life, intellect, progeny and wealth.
But obedience to such measures is not compulsory if the head of state
acts against the fundamental teachings of Islam. Islamic jurists provide the
following guidelines for obedience to a ruler or for conditions under which
revolt is justified (Dadoo 2001:26):
•
A head of state who applies the Islamic codes deserves obedience from
all. If the majority of the Muslim community is loyal to the ruler, all have to
obey him even if they disapprove of his administrative policies. ‘A state can
be legitimate only when its citizens acknowledge its authority.’ A Muslim
ruler has a responsibility towards God as well as towards the citizens who
gave him the authority to rule. This implies that if he is just and adheres
to God’s law, he must be obeyed, but otherwise not. Compliance with
this responsibility not only has consequences in this realm but also in the
hereafter on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet Muhammad warned: ‘Any
ruler over Muslims who dies while he has been dishonest to them will find
that Allah shall make Paradise unlawful for him.’ If the community is unable
to remove an unfit ruler, Muslims are under no obligation to comply with
his orders (Dadoo 2001:36). Despotic rule discourages public participation
in political affairs. In Muslim countries governments are predominantly
secular and Westernised while their citizens are not. Rulers are unable to
legitimise their rule, making them vulnerable. This vulnerability leads to
a situation where, in order to stay in power, governments may resort to
indoctrination and violence to protect their rule, and this further separates
them from their subjects. In most Muslim countries democratic institutions
are presented as representing the people. However, the reality is that
parliamentary systems display elements of authoritarianism and an inability
to tolerate diversity and political dissent. This often manifests itself in the
banning or restricting of political parties. Mosques, ‘as private property’,
often become an avenue for representing the local community in an
attempt to correct this imbalance. As a result of sermons in mosques that
are regarded as anti-state or critical of the state, governments may order
the direct intervention of the military or the police or indirectly attempt
to keep the religious establishment in line by making it dependent on the
state. This strategy further polarises local communities
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•
When governments issue laws that are clearly contradictory to Islamic
principles, citizens must not obey them
•
When governments adopt a visibly deliberate or negative stance towards
Qur’anic laws, they are considered to be in open disbelief, which justifies
their removal
•
When there is an absence of open disbelief, the removal of government
authority should not be achieved through armed rebellion by a minority
sector.
During periods of revivalism, jihad has been used against governments in
power. The reason for jihad in these instances was to impose a purer form
of Islam. To justify their claims and actions, both the governments and their
would-be usurpers claimed a monopoly on religion
In the three countries under review, gradual radicalisation will be discussed,
influenced by a number of factors and dealt with through diverse counterstrategies.
CHAPTER 2
TERRORISM IN ALGERIA
A number of historical developments have influenced the emergence of
Algeria as one of the hotspots for terrorism-related activities in Africa. These
developments have influenced not only Algeria and its immediate region but
also terror networks elsewhere, including Europe. As well as posing a domestic
threat, Algerian Islamists have also contributed to transnational terrorism. In
addition to these two dimensions, the development of extreme political thought
was influenced by internal as well as external developments over a relatively
long period. In order to understand and analyse current developments, one
needs to consider the historical background of the primary role-players and the
underlying factors contributing to these developments.
This chapter also corrects the common misconception that the trouble in Algeria
started with the return of Algerian Afghan Mujahideen and the cancellation of
the elections in 1992. Although the Mujahideen played an important role in the
establishment of radical groups such as the GIA and later the GSPC, existing
domestic circumstances provided favourable circumstances for Salafi principles
to flourish in the political cells of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS).
As indicated in Chapter 1, the influence of al-Qa’eda is also not a new
phenomenon. In addition to the fact that Salafi theory and ideals cut across
organisations in providing a common language between organisations throughout
the world, the open alignment of the GSPC with al-Qa’eda should rather be seen
as a return to an earlier relationship with extremists in Algeria that was tarnished
by the GIA during its indiscriminate killing of civilians. It should, indeed, be
observed that nothing develops overnight and that an apparently new situation
should be seen and studied in context. This includes the open alignment of the
GSPC with al-Qa’eda and subsequent changes in its modus operandi and target
selection. Through mobile training camps, the impact of this organisation is farreaching in Africa as well as in Europe and the Middle East, including Iraq.
The history of terrorism in Algeria
Algeria’s independence from France in 1962 brought the National Liberation
Front (FLN) to power after a violent liberation war that most likely also
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
psychologically influenced developments in the 1990s. The ‘Kabyle smile’
– or the slitting of a victim’s throat – which was a tactic used during the
liberation struggle, especially against French collaborators, was again used
by the GIA. In another example, the liberation war was fought by ‘Patriots’
who, when threatened, installed a culture of public participation. This led
to the formation of groupes d’autodéfense (self-defence groups) or Patriotes
(Patriots) to counter the terrorists.
Political, socio-economic and cultural developments since independence
further encouraged the formation of fundamentalist and later extremist parties
and movements. These developments can be summarised as follows:
•
Urbanisation and deteriorating socio-economic conditions. In the late
1970s unemployment began to grow dramatically. In 1985, 72 per cent
of the unemployed were under the age of 25 – an age group estimated to
make up 65 per cent of the population (Stora 2004:193-194)
•
The social impact of Colonel Boumediene’s Arabisation process introduced
in the early 1970s. In the process of asserting Algeria’s leadership of the
Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab world, Algeria imported Muslim
teachers from Syria and Egypt to ‘Arabise’ the French-speaking country.
This process initially started as an initiative to rid Algeria of its Frenchcolonial influence. Its consequences will be referred to later
•
Unification of the entire population without social, political or cultural
distinctions. As part of this initiative, history was rewritten by a
commission in order to secure the Algerian recollection of its liberation
struggle. Although this process was understandable as a cultivation of an
Algerian identity, Stora (2004:189) explained that history was selectively
recollected. ‘The aim of the commission was not to research and
understand a complex past, but to obey the orders of the regime and
the demands of the present. It was used in that way in the FLN’s internal
political debates.’ The new history formed part of a search for identity
among the youth of both Arabic and Berber heritage. This was a void the
Islamists were willing to fill
•
Islamic identity versus socialism. Islamists in particular rejected the
exclusion of a reference to Islam as the state religion in the draft
constitution of 1976. For them, this mistake served as an example of
the ‘regime’s indifference to Islam and of the influence of Marxist and
leftist elements’ (Shahin 1997:122). Al-Muwahhidun (The Monotheists)
demanded the ‘adoption of Islam as a way of life and as the basis of the
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legislative, economic and political systems in society’. Hamas – referred
to later in this discussion – summarised Algerian society as:
(…) the adoption of imported ideologies that contradict the
religion and values of the Algerian nation; the authoritarian
style of government and absence of consultation, dialogue
and transparency (…) the absence of a good example and
the adoption of regionalism and personal loyalty, instead of
merit, integrity and ability in assigning responsibility; the lack
of confidence between the people and the government as a
result of totalitarianism, tyranny, corruption and the exploitation
of influence to achieve personal, regional and party gains (…)
(Shahin 1997:122)
•
Women’s rights. These were protected under the constitution in
contradiction to the practice of the day in which women were not
permitted to marry non-Muslims and in which women were required
to have matrimonial guardians. In reaction, women’s associations,
often led by female veterans of the liberation war, called for the
practical implementation of the constitution. In reaction to these claims,
Islamists called for the implementation of the Shari’a (Stora 2004:192).
Islamists subsequently focused their attention on women who acted in
contradiction to a rigid interpretation of the Shari’a
•
The political front. Algeria adopted a single-party system and prevented
the younger generation from having access to or influence political
developments. Instead of ruling through the FLN, President Houaru
Boumedienne focused his attention on the military elite and enforced the
ban on political parties and organisations initiated after independence
(Shahin 1997:114-115). Conditions deteriorated further under President
Chadli Benjedid that led to the formation of Islamic fundamentalist
and extremist groups. Due to a lack in leadership and the challenges
associated with the fact that significant official positions were reserved
for FNL party members, decreasing oil prices in the 1980s further
brought severe socio-economic challenges that were compounded
by rapid population growth and corruption. Attacking symbols of the
government, including government offices and the headquarters of the
FLN, the bread riots of 4–10 October 1988 were a watershed in Algerian
political development. As a result of growing demands, protesters called
for an end to the one-party political system as well as wider democratic
freedoms. Subsequently, on 10 October 1988 President Bendjedid
announced a referendum to revise the 1976 constitution, and he followed
this on 23 October with the introduction of political reforms. These
26
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
reforms were based on three principles: separation between the state
and the FLN; free participation in municipal and legislative elections;
and autonomy for mass movements. Recognising the harm done in the
process of rewriting history, a newspaper on 24 November 1988 wrote,
inter alia: ‘(…) we must recover our memory, all our memory, without
“filters”’ (Stora 2004:197)
•
The army. This played a leading role in government since independence.
It was moved ‘to the centre of authority’ and reinstated ‘as the guarantor
of the continuity of the regime and the protector of stability and public
order’ (Shahin 1997:128). This development eventually opened the
door for the military establishment to intervene after the first round of
elections. Prior to the elections, faced with the bread riots, a state of
emergency had been declared that included harsh crackdowns. In fear
of further political uprisings, the military turned Algeria into a police
state, threatening freedom of speech by limiting the development of
a political culture and an environment that allowed questioning and
dissent. After the bread riots of October 1988, President Bendjedid
introduced a new multiparty constitution ‘to open up the political system
and prevent further unrest’ (Marlowe 2003). However, an outcome other
than the one originally hoped for followed the sudden opening up of the
repressive political landscape. What had happened was a form of crisis
management rather than a willingness to deal with consequences that
included the possibility of being ousted from political power
Ideologically, a number of factors influenced the emergence of extremism in
Algeria:
•
Growing calls for a return to Islam and a rejection of the state’s monopoly
on religion. It is interesting to note that the Association of Scholars had
been the first organisation to be dissolved after independence in 1962.
Notwithstanding the fact that it was similar to the Muslim Brotherhood
(an ally during the Egyptian revolution), the association played an
important role in the decolonialisation process. Its legitimacy and the
respect in which it was held provided the reason for it to be dissolved. Its
dissolution was an important step in the creation of a one-party state. As
the association had demanded that Islam should be the ideological and
political source of reference, the FLN needed to have a monopoly over
the interpretation of Islam if it were to be successful in creating a oneparty state (Shahin 1997:115). In 1963 Jam’iyyat al-Qiyam (the Association
of Values) was formed by Abdel Latif Sultani, Ahmed Sahnoun, Omar
al-Arabaoui and Mesbah al-Huwaisig, and was headed by Hachemi
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27
Tidjani. This association presented itself as ‘the instrument for restoring
the authentic values of Islam’ or as an academic organisation. Although
initially allowed by government it was influenced by the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt and Islamic intellectuals such as Malik Bin Nabi.
As a Salafiyya movement that called for the return to Islamic values, it
was also influenced by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh
(Shahin 1997:116). It called for ‘action within the framework of the party
of God as opposed to the party of Satan and recommended an Islamic
policy drawn from the divine revolution’ (Stora 2004:172). Fearing
that the association might undermine the government’s legitimacy, the
government began to restrict its activities in 1966. The Association of
Values was dismantled in March 1966 after its association with the
Muslim Brotherhood was confirmed, particularly following protests after
the execution of Sayyid Qutb (Shahin 1997:116). Despite being banned,
its ideas influenced later organisations. Sheikh Sulanti in 1974 published
Le mazdaquisme est à l’origine du socialisme (Mazdakism is the Origin of
Socialism), which was considered to be the first manifesto of the Islamist
movement, criticising ‘the country’s running elite and secular intellectuals
for their deviation from true Islamic principles and their adoption of
foreign and non-Islamic ideologies’. Sultani viewed this as ‘a clear
betrayal of Algeria’s martyrs and the sacrifice the country had offered
in order to preserve the Arab and Islamic identity of its population’. He
also criticised the regime for ‘its intolerance of dissent’ and defended
the country’s scholars against ‘attempts to marginalise them and the
harsh criticisms of conservatism and stagnation’ (Shahin 1997:119). The
government, however, controlled the religious establishment, which also
included the training of new imams, through the Ministry of Religious
Affairs
•
The influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. As a number of scholars
studied in Egypt and as Egyptian scholars were ‘imported’ to Algeria as
part of the government’s Arabisation process, the influence of the Muslim
Brotherhood became imbedded. El Irshad Oua El Islah, formed by Sheikh
Bouslimani and Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah, was the first organisation
specifically formed to target popular support. Another earlier organisation
that was particularly influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood was al-Jama’a
al-Islamiyya bi al-Jaza’ir (the Jaz’ara Trend) that later became known as
Harakat al-Mujtam’a al-Islami (Hamas) and the al-Nahda party. Formed
predominantly by university professors, the Jaz’ara Trend focused on Islam
as an alternative to Marxism. Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah, who focused on
education and the socialisation of individuals, formed Hamas, while Sheikh
Abdullah Jaballah founded al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group) in
28
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
1974. Nahnah essentially believed in using the humanitarian assistance
approach, (non-violent and gradual approach) to establish an Islamic
Republic, while Jaballah opted for an immediate and violent approach in
achieving this objective. Jaballah confirmed the influence of the Muslim
Brotherhood when he stated that:
our movements adopt the method of the Muslim Brothers
for social change. This method is based on education and
gradualism in presenting the comprehensive perspectives of
Islam. Such perspectives consider religion as a system of beliefs,
worship and morality and a way of life and reject the separation
between these aspects (Shahin 1997:121-122).
•
The growing influence of Salafi ideals (discussed in Chapter 1).
•
International developments including:
– The Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973. These placed a questionmark on Arab nationalism. These wars were followed by Israel’s
invasion of Lebanon and growing anti-Israeli movements
– The Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. On an ideological level, central
elements within the FIS, the GIA and the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS)
drew their spiritual inspiration from the mullahs in Iran. Despite the
fact that Algerian extremists were Sunni Muslims, they used the
revolution in Iran as a model. Essentially, the revolution in Iran gave
similar groups throughout the world the hope of replacing repressive
governments supported by the West with Islamic governments. This
call was echoed in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (under review). In
addition to the strategic framework, extremists resorted to a broader
international network (of countries faced with similar circumstances
and ideological influences) by getting their supplies, advice and even
recruits from a wide spread of countries
– The war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan produced the
Afghan Mujahideen and associated with the Mujahideen, al-Qa’eda.
This marked a further break down of physical and ideological
borders between Islamist extremist organisations throughout the
world, followed by a new resolve. Their influence will be discussed
under a separate heading
In reaction to growing frustration, Algeria decided to open up the political
landscape by allowing the FIS to participate in elections. But this move had
come too late, as by the time the FIS became the first Islamic party to be
recognised, this Islamist movement had become a major political force. As a
result, the FIS performed well beyond expectations and won 188 seats in the
Anneli Botha
29
first round of the 1991 general election, compared with only 18 seats won by
the governing party, the FLN (Stora 2004:210).
To prevent an overwhelming FIS victory in the second round of elections in
January 1992, high-ranking military officers ‘forced’ President Bendjedid to
resign and took power. The elections were cancelled and the military launched
a crackdown against the FIS. However, the loss of the first round of elections
and the intervention of the military ultimately led to a serious legitimacy crisis,
and the security situation deteriorated rapidly as Algeria plunged into the ‘Dark
Period’. The FIS however unfortunately did not limit its targets to the security
forces but fought indiscriminately against the Algerian people.
The following paragraphs discuss the primary actors.
The primary actors
Mouvement Islamique Armée (Armed Islamic Movement)
The Armed Islamic Movement (MIA) was the first reformist group to opt for a
military approach. Mustafa Bouyali, a supporter of Sayyid Qutb and the founder
of the group, had been outspoken since the mid 1970s before he went into hiding
in 1982. Radicalised by Sheikh Alili (who left for France in 1986/1987), Bouyali
formed the MIA as a loose association of a number of small groups. This period
also saw the first clash between Islamists and the government, which took place
on 2 November 1982 at the Ben Aknoun university housing complex outside
Algiers. After 1992 most of the members of the MIA, including Ali Belhaj, left to
join the FIS and other armed groups (Kapel 2003:163).
Front Islamique du Salut (Islamic Salvation Front) and
Armée Islamique du Salut (Islamic Salvation Army)
The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was headed by Abassi Madani and Ali Belhaj.
Many considered Madani to represent the moderate, while Belhaj represented
the more radical side of the FIS. Salafi scholars, including Ibn Taymiyya and
Hassan al-Banna, influenced Belhaj. Rejecting Western democracy, Belhaj
accepted that the Islamic political system was based on consultation, which
provided its source of legitimacy. The people’s ‘free choice of rulers, the
accountability of the rulers to the nation and the precept that a state cannot
claim loyalty unless it is legitimate’ were presented in Belhaj’s book The Decisive
Statement on Confronting the Aggression of Rulers (Shahin 1997:131-132).
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
The FIS and groups such as the Front des Forces Socialistes, or the Socialist
Forces Front (FFS), and the Mouvement pour la Démocratie en Algérie, or
the Movement for Democracy in Algeria (MDA), were the first to oppose the
military-controlled government. Winning both local and legislative elections,
the FIS presented a clear policy to address local challenges. It was the first
opposition party to call for a return to the values of equal opportunity,
justice and accountability. It also called for the establishment of a free and
independent Algerian state based on Islamic principles. Similar to the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt, the FIS provided much-needed welfare and social
services, which were seldom provided by the government. Using a network
of mosques, the FIS also provided religious and social programmes (Shahin
1997:138).
According to Mossaad (1995:186-187), the FIS was ideologically influenced
by two schools of thought:
•
Traditional Salafi, in control until June 1991 focused on the literal
interpretation of the Qur’an; and Sunna, was influenced by the ideas of
Ibn Taymiyyah, Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhab, Abu al-A’la al-Mawdudi
and Sayyid Qutb. Abbassi Madani, Ali Bin Hadj and al-Hashemi
Sahnouni also formed part of this school of thought
•
A second group, that was influenced by Algerian nationalism
In an attempt to counter rivalry and confrontation among the different Islamist
movements (not all discussed), the League of Islamic Call, an umbrella
organisation, was established in March 1989 under the leadership of Sheikh
Ahmed Sahnoun (Shahin 1997:135).
Although a legitimate political force, the FIS however also hosted a faction
with more extreme ideals. For example, after the municipal elections, ‘some
municipalities focused on addressing the immediate problems of the people,
while others were more preoccupied with symbolic and moral issues, such
as closing down bars, prohibiting mixing at beaches or imposing the veil’
(Shahin 1997:140).
More extreme splinter groups emerged after the military cancelled elections.
These included the AIS, formed in 1993 under the leadership of Abdel Qadir
Shabbouti, alias General Shabbouti, as a coalition between the MIA and
the Movement for the Islamic State in Algeria (MEI). Prior to the elections,
Shabbouti, who did not believe that the government would transfer power,
began preparing for armed resistance. Said Makhloufi, a former Algerian
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31
propaganda officer in the military established the MEI in the end of the
1980s. The AIS also attracted members of the FIS who were imprisoned and
oppressed, but limited its attacks to military targets (Shahin 1997:157).
At first, Islamic rebel groups targeted military bases and specific individuals
who were opposed to their cause. In June 1992, the State Council President,
Mohammed Boudiaf, was assassinated while delivering a speech (AFP 1992).
Trade unionists, journalists, women’s group leaders, teachers and others who
spoke out against the rebels were also subsequently targeted. In reaction, the
government detained thousands of suspected Islamic sympathisers without
trial, many of whom disappeared.
As the violence across the country increased, it became clear by 1993 that
there had been a major split in the Islamist camp between the FIS and the
GIA. The GIA issued a warning to all foreigners to leave the country or to
become legitimate targets. The situation improved in 1997 when the AIS
declared an unconditional, unilateral ceasefire, apparently to prove that
it was not responsible for the atrocities that damaged its popularity. More
insurgents surrendered during amnesty in 1999.
Although no longer part of the systematic acts of terror, the FIS again attracted
attention when its deputy chairman Ali Belhaj in an interview with al-Jazeera
on 27 July 2005, made the following statement in reaction to the kidnapping
of Algerian diplomats in Iraq:
(…) when our brothers captured these two diplomats, they did not
capture them as individuals; but rather as diplomats and ambassadors,
that is, they were appointed by the state. When the state appoints
ambassadors and diplomats in a land which is under occupation,
this means giving legitimacy and legality to the occupation, and
this issue is impermissible in terms of religion, politics, or logic (…)
I say to my brothers in the land of jihad that I am praying to God
Almighty to help them conquer the occupation and the enemies;
the tyrants of the twentieth century; an empire that has tyrannised
countries through its military, media, political and economic force;
a power that wants to dominate the world without having the right
to that. However, history has taught us that regardless of the might
of empires and of how long they last, they will finally collapse (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2005a).
In reaction, Algerian security officials arrested Belhaj for questioning, which
led to the following statement:
32
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
In the interview with your respected channel, Sheikh Ali Belhaj
wanted to complete his message to the Mujahideen who are holding
the two Algerian hostages and wanted to tell them to release the
hostages as a mark of respect to the Algerian people who have
always supported the Arab cause, particularly the Iraqi cause against
the occupier (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005b).
Ali Belhaj again caught the attention of the state, this time through his son
Abdelkader, who joined the GSPC in Boumerdes in 2006 and who was
suspected of being involved in the attack on the gendarmerie station in
Yakouren on 13 July 2007 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007b).
Afghan Mujahideen
According to Rédha Malek (2004:441), at the end of 1980 between 3 000
and 4 000 Algerians went through training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
According to General Tounsi in an interview with the author in May 2007,
approximately 1 000 returned to Algeria, while an estimated further 1 000
Algerians left for Bosnia and Chechnya (the impact of the Bosnian Mujahideen
had a particular impact on European terror networks). On their return, in
contrast to the majority of the population, they wore Afghan-style clothing,
beards and turbans and became known as les Afghanis. The Algerian Afghans
became instrumental in the establishment of Islamist organisations such as
the GIA. Although the GIA will be discussed under a separate heading, the
following will provide a brief overview of the military campaign.
Simplistic analyses date the onset of Islamic-motivated terrorism to the
interruption of elections in January 1992 and the banning of the FIS. It is,
however, interesting to note that the campaign of terrorism and armed
subversion began almost immediately after the elections were cancelled. This
campaign followed a few smaller attacks, which were influenced by a long
philosophical development. Emphasising this point, Ambassador Ramtane
Lamaara in February 1998 told a US House subcommittee hearing on Africa
that ‘Islamist militants organised themselves into paramilitary groups much
earlier, partly as a result of the return of the Algerian Afghans, who formed
the hard core of the armed wing of the FIS’.
Veterans of the war in Afghanistan against the communist regime and Soviet
troops took advantage of the new climate of freedom heralded by the February
1989 constitution to preach radicalism in mosques, telling their inspirational
‘holy war’ stories and sharing their military knowledge and training with others,
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33
mostly among large sections of the socially disadvantaged and marginalised
youth. Indeed, a spirit of rebellion became associated with the FIS. Driven by
hard-line theologians and paramilitary activists, this fundamentalist/extremist
umbrella organisation launched an open confrontation with the government
in June 1991. Two FIS leaders were then arrested and sentenced to 12 years
in jail. In November 1991, before the first round of parliamentary elections, a
major attack on a border security check-point, Guemmar, was led by a veteran
of the Afghanistan war known as Emir Abderrahmane Abu Siham, alias Tayeb
al-Afghani, a notorious terrorist who was finally killed by the security forces in
1993 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006a).
Islamist movements which were prepared to impose their rule through
their own paramilitary groups launched a full-scale campaign of terror,
killing thousands of people, including foreigners, journalists and women,
burning schools and industrial facilities and blowing up bridges, railways and
power lines. Based on subsequent attacks, the target selection of terrorism
operations in Algeria could be classified into four stages:
•
Attacks aimed at security forces and government employees
•
Attacks directed at intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, artists and foreigners,
especially French nationals in Algeria and France
•
Attacks directed at the general infrastructure of the country, including
bridges, schools, railways and electricity supplies
•
Attacks directed at the entire population
The period between 1995 and 1998 could probably be described as a black
period in Algeria’s history, categorised inter alia by collective massacres
directed at rural and isolated communities. According to eyewitness reports,
terrorist elements responsible for the massacre in Bentalha (Baraki), south
of Algiers, on 22 and 23 September 1997 had a list of primary targets. This
was an action that confirmed that these attacks were intended to terrorise
and punish the population hostile to them, or those who formerly supported
them but who had since withdrawn their support, or relatives and current
supporters of rival armed groups (Amnesty International 1997:7-8).
During this stage, peaks of violence corresponded with major political
activities, such as the 1995 presidential elections and the 1997 legislative
elections. The aim was to intimidate the population to boycott the elections
and to punish it for rejecting the extremist strategy and therefore to abort
34
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
the dialogue process initiated in September 1997. The darkest period in
the chronology of massacres in Algeria began in the summer of 1997 and
continued until the middle of 1998. During this period, civilians in villages
were massacred weekly. Especially during August and September 1997, a
series of massacres took place in dramatic succession that claimed the lives
of hundreds of people. As the massacres continued, and the government and
military forces seemed unable to protect them, villagers took up arms – with
the assistance of the state through Executive Decree 97-04, which established
Groupes de Légetime Défense (GLD) or better known as the Patriots – to
defend themselves and their families against the GIA.
The frequency and intensity of attacks began to change during 1998. This
phase was characterised by the disintegration of terrorist organisations due
to:
•
The mobilisation of civil society against terrorists
•
An enhancement of the democratic process, especially by establishing
elected institutions
•
The strengthening of the counter-terrorist strategy through the creation of
Patriot and self-defence groups
•
The acquisition of experience in counter-terrorism initiatives from other
countries, following a period of isolation
•
Conflict within the terrorist groups
•
The adoption of a reconciliation strategy that included President Liamine
Zeroual’s 1995 rahma or clemency law directed at the AIS. Under this
initiative, approximately 2 000 fighters, predominantly from the Mitidja
region, laid down their arms. In the same spirit, President Bouteflika’s
Civil Concord of 1999 resulted in the ‘repentance’ of approximately
6 000 terrorists (AFP 2005)
During this period, influenced by important losses suffered in their ranks,
terrorist groups chose new and less hazardous tactics, including explosive
attempts, car bombs and fake road-blocks. The damage and losses caused
by terrorist operations were particularly destructive and had harmful effects.
Beside human losses, terrorist actions caused important material damage
through the destruction of industrial installations as well as schools and
hospitals.
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Groupe Islamique Armé or Armed Islamic Group
Probably the deadliest organisation in the conflict, the Armed Islamic Group
(GIA) was formed as a result of an amalgamation of:
•
The MEI
•
A cell established by Mansouri Meliani that included Afghan veterans
and young urban militants, later headed by Mohammed Allal, alias Moh
Leveilley
•
Hardliners within the FIS under Abdelhaq Layada, alias Abu Adnan, who
became the first emir of the GIA
Abdelkrim Gharzouli, alias Kari Saïd, the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden,
motivated the formation of the GIA at a meeting organised by Arab Afghans
in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1990 (Malek 2004:441). Under the leadership of
Meliani, a number of Algerian Afghans began to organise themselves for what
they viewed as an inevitable struggle with the government. The most radical
members of the group considered the participation of the FIS in the elections
as a betrayal. Ideologically, the GIA had since its establishment been divided
into a number of different factions or cells that caused a number of rivalries
and that ultimately led to infighting, thus weakening the organisation (Kepel
2003:257-260). The factions included the following:
•
Jihadist-Salafists influenced by the principles of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
(1838–1897), Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905) and Rashid Rida (1865–
1935). This faction originated from Afghanistan and included Qari Said,
Tayyb al-Afghani and Djafar al-Afghani (emir of the GIA between August
1993 and February 1994). Afghani, a member of Dawa’a wa Tabligh
from 1982, went to Afghanistan in 1989 and returned to Algeria in 1992
(Gunaratna 2002:166)
•
Takfiris, who viewed society as impious and therefore justified mass
killings
•
Djazarists or Algerianists, who could be described as an association of
technocrats and intellectuals who turned to violence
Cherif Gouasmi, a veteran of the Afghan war, largely formulated the GIA’s
philosophy and tactics. The GIA was immediately distinguishable by its
willingness to target civilians. Its targets included government officials,
36
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
members of the security forces, journalists, feminists, intellectuals and
French-speaking individuals in what appeared to be a bid to eliminate the
educated classes that according to them have been contaminated by Western
values.
Farid Hamani, alias Abu Selman, who was appointed leader in December
1996, was blamed for advocating the policy of village massacres. He was
reportedly killed in January 1997. From 1996 onwards the ‘eradicator’
faction of the GIA undertook massacres of villagers aimed at terrifying
the rural population, resulting in many fleeing to the cities and causing
an internal displacement crisis. The group had always targeted civilians,
including women who refused to wear the veil, as well as journalists and
academics.
The GIA’s controversial strategy of slaughtering villagers – including women
and children – by cutting their throats, took place under the leadership
of Antar Zouabri who asked Mustapha Kamel, alias Abu Hamza al-Masri
(a veteran of the jihad in Afghanistan) who preached at the Finsbury Park
mosque in London, to write fatwa’s and collect funds as well as weaponry
and explosives intended for the conflict in Algeria. Hamza, on behalf of the
Religious Affairs Committee, requested Abu Moundher to write a 60-page
manifesto, ‘The Sharp Sword’, in justification of its campaign against civilians
who, according to the GIA, had ‘forsaken religion and renounced the battle
against its enemies’.
The GIA did not accuse the Algerian society as a whole of impiety (in contrast
to the takfiris) until it became apparent that there was a lack of commitment
to participate in the jihad against the unlawful Algerian government (Kepel
2002:411). This was followed by a fatwa declaring non-members infidels and
thereby permitting their murder. In an underground bulletin distributed in
September 1996, Zouabri issued a fatwa entitled ‘The Great Demarcation’
(al-mufassala al-kubra), in which he called the self-defence committees
‘Harki militias’ and ‘Zeroual’s dogs’.
Zouabri demanded that the population should choose sides and further
warned citizens to stay away from places frequented by security forces.
The religious judgments contained in the fatwa included ‘application of
divine law’ to enemies (ie putting them to death), the expropriation of their
belongings (ghanima or war booty) and the abduction of their women.
A June 1997 communiqué from the group’s religious interpreter, Assouli
Mahfoudh, declared that the murder of women and children consorting
with ‘enemies of Islam’ was lawful and that the innocent among them
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37
would be admitted to Paradise. His readers were informed that those who
had their throats cut in towns and villages were ‘supporters of the tyrant’
(taghout). These texts seem to have set off the massacres, but they also
appear to have triggered the defection of several Islamist factions from the
central GIA. Zouabri was in charge of the group until his death in February
2002 (Kepel 2003: 268; 411).
The GIA was particularly active in the west and centre of Algeria (under TiratSidi Belabbas and Blida-Mtigah-Midia respectively), as well as in Algiers (Shahin
1997:158). The group also aimed to internationalise its campaign through:
•
Targeting Algiers international airport to warn visitors away from the
country
•
Targeting journalists and in particular foreign correspondents
•
Targeting foreigners resident in Algiers
•
Conducting acts of terrorism in France
By 1997 the GIA was seriously divided. Support from foreign Islamist groups
expected to be sympathetic to their cause had diminished amid accusations
that the group was guilty either of un-Islamic slaughter of innocent civilians
or of conspiracy with secularists in the security services. As a result, the
following factions broke away from the GIA:
•
The GSPC, which took much of the GIA command structure, based east
of Algiers and in Kabylie. This faction will be discussed in greater detail
•
The Ligue Islamique pour le Da’wa et le Djihad, or the Islamic League for
Preaching and Combat, which was founded in 1996 by Ali Belhajar, the
former GIA commander in Medea district, but which joined the AIS and
disarmed under the Law of Civil Harmony (Turshen 2004:15)
•
The Front Islamique du Djihad Armé, or the Islamic Front for Armed Jihad
(FIDA), which, under the leadership of Mohammed Said, split from the
GIA in 1993. Said claimed to represent the intellectual elite of the Islamist
movements and targeted specific intellectuals including politicians and
journalists (Kepel 2003:264)
•
The Houmat al-Da’wa al-Salafyyia, or the Defenders of Salafist Preaching
(HDS), which was founded in 1996 by Kada Ben Chiha, a former GIA
38
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
commander for western Algeria, as well as Ain Delfa and Relizane
(Turshen 2004:15). Known as a previous leader of Afghan veterans in
Afghanistan, Mohammed Benslim, alias Swelam El Abassi, alias Salim
el-Afghani, was also in control of a number of active cells abroad. On 20
October 2003, the US State Department announced that it had frozen
the US assets of a little-known Algerian Islamic group known as the
HDS, which operated in the Relazine region of northwest Algeria (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007)
•
Other smaller groups operational in western Algeria included the Salafist
Combatant Group (GSC), led by Yahia Djouadi, alias Abu Amar, which
was active in a triangle between Chlef, Tiaret and Tissemsilt in northern
and western Algeria, and the Salafist Group for Jihad (GSD) under
Abdelkader Souane, alias Abu Thamana, which operated in the Ain
Defla and Tissemsilt regions (AFP 2002)
Despite the break-up of the GIA, Islamist terror and guerrilla activities
remained a serious threat to the security of Algeria. Fighting was particularly
concentrated in the two eastern provinces of Jijel and Constantine. However,
what remained of the GIA was highly decentralised. As a result the GIA’s
indiscriminate modus operandi had led to the above-mentioned break-aways.
The GIA was diminished as a result of internal conflict and successes by the
security forces.
In addition to its activities in Algeria, the GIA also established a strong
presence in Western Europe, where it acted predominantly as a support
base, later used in the planning and execution of a number of attacks. One
such incident proved to be a forerunner of the events of 11 September
2001 (9/11), when in December 1994 four GIA terrorists hijacked an Air
France flight from Algiers. Their goal was to force the pilot to fly the plane
into the Eiffel Tower. Their plan failed when the plane landed in Marseilles
where French Special Forces stormed it, killing the hijackers in the
process (Frontline 2005). In addition to the Air France hijacking in 1994,
investigations into a series of bombings on French soil throughout 1995
led to the conviction of several GIA members, including Rachid Ramda.
Ramda received a ten-year prison sentence in March 2006 after spending
ten years in a British prison before being extradited to France in December
2005 (AFP 2006).
By 1998, due to its indiscriminate killing of civilians, the GIA lost tremendous
support in Algeria. As a result, the GSPC absorbed much of the GIA’s
international network.
Anneli Botha
39
Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat or
the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching
As a breakaway faction of the GIA, the Salafist Group for Combat and
Preaching (GSPC) focused its attacks predominantly on members of the
security forces, adhering to Salafist interpretations and ideals. Initially, the
group aimed to overthrow the secular government of Algeria and to establish
a government based on Islamic principles. Hassan Hattab, alias Abu Hamza,
the head of the GIA network in Europe, established the GSPC in 1998
and took with him approximately 700 guerrillas under his command. It is
important to note that according to the testimony of Mohamed Berrached,
a former GSPC member, Osama bin Laden encouraged Hattab to break
away from the GIA in an attempt to portray a better image through its tactics
and target selection, since al-Qa’eda withdrew its support for the GIA in
1996 (AFP 1999). Notwithstanding the direct influence of al-Qa’eda in the
establishment of the GSPC, the GSPC was not one of the signatories to
al-Qa’eda’s fatwa issued on 23 February 1998, both because the GSPC was
not yet officially established and because an open alignment with al-Qa’eda
might have attract the ‘unnecessary’ attention of domestic and foreign
security services.
Instead, Hattab issued a public condemnation of both the GIA massacres
and aligned the GSPC with the peace process between the government and
the FIS. By October 1997, the AIS, the armed wing of the FIS, had declared
a ceasefire in a bid to draw a distinction between the AIS and the GIA.
The GSPC really rose to prominence following the election of President
Bouteflika, when it criticised those who accepted amnesty and even targeted
other members of Islamist organisations. By 2001 the GSPC had become the
most effective armed group in Algeria.
Additionally, the Amazigh (Berber) ‘conflict’ in Kabyle indirectly contributed
to the support given to the GSPC, or at least the perception was created.
The history of this conflict with the central government dated back to the
French colonial period, during which the Kabyle region was recognised
as the area where the political and cultural dominance of the colonial
forces was most contested – ultimately producing a number of martyrs.
In the period after independence, the new Algerian state had proved to
be as intolerant as the French colonial forces had been towards cultural
diversity.
Notwithstanding the principle of cultural diversity, the ‘Arabisation’ process
initiated under Colonel Houari Boumediene was legally formalised in
40
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
July 1998 when Arabic was recognised as the only official language. In
essence, the underlying motivation for the conflict was a struggle for
cultural, linguistic and political representation. In reaction to the initial
government intention to Arabise the population, a strategy by Islamic
groups to Islamise the country was equally threatening to the Amazigh. The
Amazigh community was called on ‘to rise up in resistance following the
spirit of independence (…) supporting the government’s formation of selfdefence groups in Kabyle villages’ (Silverstein 2003:87-111). In essence, the
conflict between the Amazigh and the government – as well as between
government forces and Islamic groups generally – could be attributed to a
history of ethnic difference that ultimately led to an identity crisis, creating
an environment that could be manipulated by individuals and factions.
Particularly after government proclaimed the Arab language law (on the
36th anniversary of independence) in July 1998, that stipulated that Arabic
was the only official language to be used in documents, advertisements,
films and public speeches (BBC News 1998). It is an interesting coincidence
that the GSPC split from the GIA took place during the same year – without
implying that the Berber conflict and the formation of the GSPC was related.
Subsequently, some members of the public kept quiet and even supported
extremists as long as the extremists, particularly the GSPC, did not target
them. This explains to some degree the extent of the GSPC’s operations in
the Kabyle region, which also served as the GSPC’s headquarters. Another
important factor was the inhospitable terrain of mountains and dense
forests that favoured guerrilla warfare.
The success of the GSPC in eastern Algeria was therefore not a coincidence.
As mentioned earlier, some members within the Berber communities
in eastern Algeria had a long history of conflict with the authorities.
Frustration with the Algerian government also manifested itself in turning
a blind eye, interpreted as ‘support’ that extremists, particularly the GSPC,
received from some Berber communities in Kabyle (eastern Algeria).
Particularly since the GSPC, in contrast to the GIA targeted the military
(a common enemy). This also came during a period of growing frustration
between the Berber communities and the security forces. For example,
on 28 and 29 April 2001 violent confrontations erupted after Mohamed
Geurmah was killed and three other young people arrested in Beni Douala
near Tizi Ouzou for protesting against the government. In subsequent
violent demonstrations around Tizi Ouzou police used live ammunition
after running out of teargas that left (according to El Watan) 80 people dead
and hundreds injured. Demonstrations also took place in Bejaia, while
tension was reported in Sidi aich, El Kseur, Tazmalt, Seddouk, and Timezrit
(Kassaimah 2001).
Anneli Botha
41
It is also known that the GSPC and later AQLIM made previous attempts to
create the impression that both the GSPC/AQLIM and the Berber communities
had a common cause and identity. For example, during the 2001 demonstrations
the Quotidien d’Oran newspaper reported that Amari Saifi, Abderrezak El Para,
based in the northeast and Kabylie highlands, led some of the demonstrators
involved in attacking public buildings (Kassaimah 2001) – this allegation could
however not be confirmed. Later in 2006, in a written communiqué released by
the GSPC in which they claimed responsibility for the RBC attack the statement
from the GSPC read as follows:
Allah…has guided a group of mujahideen in executing an operation
that targeted crusaders working for the American company Brown
& Root – Condor in Bouchaoui, on the road between Algiers and
Zeralda. This operation took place on Sunday afternoon… with the
detonation of a bomb on a bus carrying no less than 20 crusaders…
This operation is a modest gift that we offer to our Muslim brothers
who are suffering from the misfortunes of the new Crusade that is
targeting Islam and its sanctuaries. We say to them: your brothers
from among the grandsons of Tariq bin Ziyad will never be satisfied
until the crusaders and their agents are expelled… (Kohlmann
2006).
Tariq bin Ziyad, a Muslim Berber and Umayyad general led the conquest
of Visigothic Hispania in 711 under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph
Al-Walid I. Tariq ibn Ziyad is considered to be one of the most important
military commanders in Iberian history. He was initially the deputy of Musa
ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to launch the first
thrust of a conquest of the Iberian peninsula (comprising modern Spain and
Portugal) (Wikipedia 2008). It is, however, essential to note that this passive
support was not given in solidarity to the cause of the extremists but rather
in principle, as a force against the Algerian government. It was also not given
by the collective Berber community. With the change of the GSPC’s tactics
under the AQLIM to include an indiscriminate target selection, communities
increasingly began to change their perception – tipping the scale toward
government’s call to end the conflict.
Structure of the GSPC/AQLIM terrorist group
The GSPC is currently headed by Abu Mousaab Abdelouadoud (38),
alias Abdelmalek Droukdel, born in Meftah, Algeria. He succeeded Nabil
Sahraoui, alias Abu Mustapha Ibrahim, who was killed by the Algerian
42
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Figure 1: Structure of the GSPC
GSPC Headquarters
Abu Mossaab Abdelouadoud
@ Abdelmalek Droukdel
Council of Notables
Madjliss Echouri (Advisery Council)
GSPC Support Committees
Shura Council
Abu Hassan Rashid
Ahmed Jabri
Fr: Sheikh Ahmed Abu al-Bara’a @
Ahmed Zarabib
Military Adviser
Ali Abu Dahdah @ Ali Dix (killed)
Abbi Abdelaziz (former)
Information / Communication
Salih Qasimi @ Abu Muhammad Salah
Melik Nacer-Eddine
Khettab Mourad
Abu Yasir Sayyar
GSPC Algeria
Zone 2
Rachid Abdelmoumin
Abou Younis El Acimi
Fr: Harek Zoheir @
Sofiane el-Fassila
El Feth Katibat
Omar Bentitraoui @
Yahia Abou Khitma
Abdelhamid Saadaoui
@ Abu al-Haytham
El Farouk Katibat
Abderrahmane
Bouzegza @ Abu Assa
Zemmouri Katibat
Boualem Hadjres @
Kaakaa
El-Arkam Katibat
Aboun Memien @
Rabahtarfi
El-Ahouel Katibat
(Algiers & Ain Defla)
Traditional cruel
Zone 5
Abdelaali Yahyaoui @
Younes
Tarik Ibn Ziad Katibat
(Beni Ksila region west
of Bejaia)
El Ansar Katibat
Fr headed by Harek Zoheir @ Sofiane El-Fassila
Rabah Kasdi @ Abou
Hamza (fr military
advisor)
Abou Bekr Essedik
Katibat
Focus on Mefta and
Khemis El-Khechna
Djamel Niche @ Abou
Sham Elyes
El-Khaoha Katibat
Algiers, Blida & Bouira
acted as bodyguards for
the national emir
Foreign Affairs Committee
Fr Saadaoui Abdelhamid
@ Abu el-Haithem Yahia
GSPC Europe
Ait el Hadi Mustapha
Germany
Ait el Hadi Mustapha
Used website created by
al-Qa’eda
Mohamed Bensakhria
Denmark
Mehiri Athmane
Alias Rouget
France
Kinai Abdullah
Belgium
Tarek Maaroufi (Tunisian)
Spain
Khouni Mohamed
Netherlands
Italy
UK
Rashid Bukhalfa, @ Abu
Doha
Kamar Eddine Kherbane
USA
GSPC Middle East
Pakistan
Bounoua Boudjenaa
@ Anes
Kamar Eddine Kherbane
Lebanon
Syria
Adil Sakir al-Mukni
@ Yasir Abu Sayyaf
(arrested for channelling
foreign fighters to Iraq)
Zone 9
Yahia Djaouadi @ Yahia Abu Amar
Former: Abdelkader Ben Masoud
Mokhtar Belmakhtar @ Abou Al
Abbes or Belaouer
El Chahada Katibat
Djebel Mesaad /
El Oued
Talaia es-Salafia Katibat
Djelfa / Laghouat /
Ghardaia
Mouhadjiroune Katibat
Djebel Boukhil
El Nasr Aflou Katibat
Djebel / Boukehul
El Fatah El Moubine
Ibad Errahmane
El Chahada
Anneli Botha
43
military in June 2004 near Bejaia, 250 km east of Algiers. Droukdel is
reported to have helped Nabil Sahraoui become leader of the group in
the summer of 2003. He was also one of the leaders who forced Hassan
Hattab, alias Abu Hamza, to step down. Active first in the GIA, Droukdel
was close to Djamal Zitouni before Zitouni’s death. Droukdel previously
was the head of the GSPC’s production branch and also led the Council of
Notables, which included the officials in charge of the seven provinces in
Algeria where the group was active. Droukdel grew up in the Meftah area,
south of the capital, which in the early 1990s, at the beginning of armed
activities, was one of the main strongholds of the GIA. Droukdel has a
university degree in chemistry and electronic engineering (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2004b).
The GSPC went through substantial changes, including a name change to
AQLIM. Figure 1 is a non real-time schematic presentation illustrating the
complexity and extent of the GSPC’s structure, including its international
reach. Also please note that this representation does not include all the
different substructures. Figure 1 is therefore only a brief overview of the most
active domestic structures.
At the head of the GSPC is a national emir, supported by the Council of
Notables. Reference is also made to an advisory council that essentially
includes leading members of the organisation and acts as a decisionmaking body, electing the leaders of the organisation and setting its
strategy.
Although its information and media committee was not a new innovation for a
terrorist organisation, this committee achieved considerable visibility in 2007
when GSPC/AQLIM focused extensively on a media strategy, particularly
in claiming responsibility for attacks in Algiers and beyond (including
attacks in Mauritania). In 2004 the GSPC became the first organisation of
its kind to distribute information through an internet website – www.jihadalgeria.com – headed at that time by Sheikh Abu Omar Abd al-Birracted
as the former head of the information and media committee. Although the
Algerian government reacted by closing a number of websites, GSPC/AQLIM
continued to distribute messages on the internet. For example, in July 2007
the following message was distributed. After claiming responsibility for the 11
July suicide attacks, it continued:
We call on all our Muslim brothers to stay away from the centres and
gathering (points) of infidels and apostates (…) The Mujahideen have,
with God’s help, regrouped, organised their ranks and refined their
44
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
plans and they are with God’s will planning many surprises for the
enemies of God in the Islamic Maghreb countries (Ersan 2007).
And again, after the September suicide attacks, AQLIM made the following
internet statement: ‘We swear to God to continue sacrificing our lives until
you stop supporting the crusaders in their war, apply Islamic tenets, and stop
your war against God’s religion’ (Black 2007).
After the attack targeting Brown and Root-Condor (BRC), the GSPC made the
following statement:
God enabled a group of our holy warriors to carry out this attack
targeting the Crusaders working for the BRC in Bouchaoui (…) We
carried out this raid as a gift to all Muslims who are suffering from the
new Crusader campaign targeting Islam and its holy places (Hunter
2006).
From 2004 the GSPC made a large number of documents available on its
website, including manuals on how to manufacture explosives and poison.
This development coincided with the GSPC’s change in tactics. These
methods, particularly the use of explosives, were previously associated with
the modus operandi of the GIA in its indiscriminate target selection. The
website, however, urged its members and supporters not to introduce these
methods before ‘consulting the fatwas of Osama bin Laden’. Despite previous
allegations that links existed between al-Qa’eda and the GSPC, this statement
confirmed a closer relationship that extended beyond a common philosophy
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004).
In the aftermath of the attack on US-based KRB’s BRC in December 2006,
GSPC/AQLIM posted a video of the attack that also included footage of how
the attack was planned and executed. This attack served as a preliminary to
future developments, including the strategy of attracting new followers and
funds through extraordinary attacks. After the 13 February and 21 September
2007 attacks, AQLIM media spokesman Abu-Muhammad Salah claimed
responsibility for them (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007c).
Ahmed Zarabib, alias Ahmed Abu al-Baraa, the spiritual leader of the GSPC
and a former prayer leader, was killed on 17 January 2006 in the mountains
near Toudja, 260 km east of Algiers (Dow Jones International News 2006).
The information and media committee attempted to contradict statements
made by the government and its security forces, particularly after the latter
claimed a success against GSPC/AQLIM by the elimination of Zarabib.
Anneli Botha
45
In addition to the GSPC’s structure in Algeria, the GSPC as mentioned
managed to take control of the GIA network in Europe. Claiming political
asylum, extremists including Kamar Eddine Kherbane, one of the founding
members of the FIS, established themselves in European countries. Kherbane
for example moved from Albania to Istanbul, from where he eventually
settled in the UK. According to Algerian security forces, Kherbane (who
had been granted political asylum in the UK in 1994) also assisted in the
establishment of the GSPC. In addition to meeting Osama bin Laden in
Sudan in 1998, Kherbane was in charge of a liaison office in Peshawar for
Algerians fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. That office operated
under the cover of an aid agency, the non-governmental organisation (NGO)
International Rescue Islamist Organisation, which was reportedly funded by
bin Laden (AFP 2001).
GSPC cells were already known to exist in Italy, Spain and France. Although
they initially focused on collecting financial contributions to be channelled
back to Algeria, these cells later turned to recruitment – providing a
foothold for future al-Qa’eda operations that will be discussed in Chapter
5. Building on a long history, Algerian, especially GSPC, members began to
form the foundation for al-Qa’eda cells in Europe. One such Algerian was
Khalid Abu Bassir, believed to be one of the al-Qa’eda leaders in Europe
(Guitta 2007).
The terrorist organisations’ zone system
From a terrorist organisation point of view, Algeria and other areas of
terrorist activity are divided into zones, of which zones 2, 5 and 9 receive
particular mention here. Map 1 attempts to provide a visual representation
of the different zones. Please note that the different zones operate in a fluent
manner and therefore only serves as a basic framework. For example the
operations of zones 4 and 5 overlap in eastern Algeria and is often a source
of internal conflict.
Again as mentioned, despite this formal structure, the GSPC is more fluid.
Of all the zones, most of the GSPC’s attacks are concentrated in zones 2
and 5, while the other zones predominately provide support. In contrast
to the campaign of mass civilian casualties inflicted by the GIA, the GSPC
targeted government and security forces, with the intention to increase
popular support. The areas of operation are also influenced by the origin of
the particular emir. For example, Hassan Hattab originated from the Kabylie
region, while Nabil Sahraoui came from the Tebessa region.
46
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Map 1: Zones of the GSPC
2
3
5
1
1
2
3
5
9
Zone 1
Zone 2 (Central Command)
Zone 3
Zone 5 (including Zone 4)
Zone 9
9
University of Texas at Austin: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Zone 2, which forms the central GSPC command, includes Algiers,
Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzou and the Kabylie region. An emir heads each zone,
which is further subdivided into katibats, or companies, with each katibat
subdivided into three or four fassilas. A fassila in turn is made up of two
sarayas, each with 12–18 members, often working in smaller groups of
between two and six members.
Anneli Botha
47
During 2007, the following areas in the east were especially active:
•
The headquarters of the GSPC, including Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia (230 km
to the east of Algiers), extends from Aghribs, Yakouren, to the western part
of Bejaia
•
Prevented to target Algiers since 2003, the GSPC/AQLIM managed to
direct its attacks closer to Algiers during 2007. In order for it to attack
Algiers, GSPC/AQLIM had to re-activate previous inactive structures.
Notwithstanding this, as a result of extensive counter-terrorism operations,
GSPC/AQLIM needed to rely on structures in the centre and the east to
commit acts of terrorism, particularly in Reghaia, Dergana and Algiers.
Boumerdes, considered to be the gateway to Algiers, and Tizi Ouzou are
of strategic importance to GSPC/AQLIM (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007d). Structures re-activated included:
– The el-Feth Katibat. Among this structure’s leaders were Abdelhamid
Saadaoui, alias Abu al-Haytham, and Omar Bentitraoui, alias Yahia
Abou Khitma
– The el-Arkam Katibat. Active in Boudouaou, Keddara and other
areas west of Bourmerdes (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007e). It is
important to note that in order to reactivate both the el-Feth and el
Arkam Katibats, the Abou Bekr Essedik Katibat played an important
role due to its close proximity to Algiers (stronghold in Meftah)
– The Abu Bakr Seddik group. Led by Moussa Kitab, alias Abu Hanifa,
this group was responsible for the area from Khemis El-Khechna to
Dar El-Beida, including Meftah. Taking part in the April bombings,
this group is also working with the Erraad group under the
leadership of Lounes Ferkioui, alias Cheikh Ahmed, which is active
mainly in the municipalities of Larbatache, Khemis El-Khechna and
Hamadi (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007d)
Other katibats include the El Ansar Katibat, which was formerly headed
by Emir Harek Zoheir, alias Sofiane El-Fassila, who replaced Abdelhamid
Saadaoui, alias Yahia Abu Haythem, as emir of Zone 2. In addition to
leadership changes, the katibat was also responsible for the bomb attack
on 15 September 2007 on a police apartment complex that killed two
policemen and injured eight people. The Zemmouri or Zamouri Katibat
under the leadership of Youcef Khelifi alias Talha in Ouled Ali was also
particularly active (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007f). In December
2007 AQLIM announced that Rachid Abdelmoumin had taken over as
emir of Zone 2 after Zoheir was killed in October (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007g).
48
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
As a result of continuing losses, the suspicion arises that GSPC/AQLIM
plans to reform the existing structure into four zones (central, western,
eastern and southern), thus forcing the GSPC to consider a new strategy
that will be referred to later in this discussion. Although most of the
activities of GSPC/AQLIM are concentrated in the eastern and to a lesser
extent the southern parts of Algeria, developments during 2007 indicated
that GSPC/AQLIM might consider extending its area of operations to the
west of the country, particularly Tlemcen and Maghnia (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007h).
In October 2007 members of the GSPC/AQLIM leadership structure
encouraged members to move their operations to western Algeria, which
is considered to be safer than the east of the country, where there is a
greater concentration of security operations. Subsequently, both Algerian
and Moroccan security forces stepped up their presence in the region
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007i). However, even before this initiative
became publicly known, members of the Algerian security forces clashed a
number of times with terrorists around Sidi Bel-Abbes in the Tafsour region
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007j). In addition to these skirmishes, in
June the Algerian Army discovered some 2 500 anti-personnel mines in
Maghnia en route from the smuggling networks in Morocco to the central
region, in particular Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007k).
For example, in July the security forces discovered a group active in the
Ain Temouchent, Sidi Bel-Abbes and Tlemcen regions – the mountainous
area on the border between Algeria and Morocco. During their search
operations, the military discovered hideouts that housed material used to
manufacture home-made explosive devices, as well as food. Approximately
15 suspects managed to escape in the direction of the Moroccan border
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007l). In August, furthermore, in the light
of the increasing pressure on its members’ movements, GSPC/AQLIM
decided to move and to transport its home-made bombs, weapons and
provisions on fishing boats to escape tightened security control and the
several checkpoints on the roads. Zone 2 members, under the leadership
of Soufiane Fassila, have already implemented this strategy throughout the
whole coastline to move from Boumerdes Province to Tizi Ouzou (100 km
east of Algiers) and Bejaia Province (300 km east of Algiers). The security
forces believe that this strategy means that activities in the west of the
country will be re-activated, especially in Mostaganem (400 km west of
Algiers) and Ain Temouchent (470 km west of Algiers) (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007m).
Anneli Botha
49
Zones 4 and 5 are concentrated in the eastern part of Algeria. Amari Saifi,
Abderrezak El Para, a former paratrooper in the Algerian Army, is probably
one of the best-known emirs of Zone 5. Also a former deputy to Hassan
Hattab, El Para received international recognition for the kidnapping of 32
Western tourists in 2002. El Para crossed the Sahara through Mali and Niger
for the Tibesti region in northern Chad following the kidnapping, but was
captured by the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJT) in Chad and
handed over to the Algerian authorities in 2004 under Libyan mediation. El
Para is currently in Algerian custody (AFP 2007).
The area approximately 80 km south of Tebessa is also thought to be part
of GSPC/AQLIM’s redeployment strategy, which include the setting up of
explosives manufacturing laboratories and the location of a transit terrorist
stronghold for recruits for Iraq and the Middle East (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007n). It was, however, hoped that with the elimination of its former
emir Houari Youcef alias Mustapha Abou Omeir in May 2006, the remainder
of the Ibad Errahmane group active in the mountains of Les Babors and in
El-Aouana, El-Ansar and El-Milia would have decreased (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2006b). Due to its close proximity to the border with Tunisia,
groups such as El Fatah El Moubine periodically include other nationalities,
in particular Tunisian and to a lesser exend Libyan nationals. Members of
the security forces continue to direct their attention to this region. In May
2007 Algerian security forces also discovered a training camp in S’hine in
El Oued, 700 km south-east of Algiers close to the Tunisian border, as part
of the El Chahada Katibat. According to the security forces, GSPC/AQLIM
had recruited at least 60 fighters in the region over the previous three years
for attacks in both Iraq and Algeria. Training as suicide bombers was also
included in the curriculum of this camp; security forces discovered the
last will and testament of five already trained suicide bombers recorded
on CD-ROM (Reuters 2007a). In July 2007 the security forces broke up
a support network and arrested 12 people between the ages of 17 and
40 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007o). A month later the security
forces killed four Libyan fighters in a bombardment raid (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007p), and in late October 2007 the security forces killed a
further 15 militants and captured seven suspects, seizing large quantities
of ammunition and destroying several hideouts in the region (Reuters
2007b).
Zone 9 includes the smuggling networks – weapons, contraband and stolen
vehicles – of the Sahara (stretching from the Bou Kahil Mountains in Djelfa
Province to the mountains in Souk Ahras Province in eastern Algeria) and
several mobile training camps. Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Belaouer (‘one
50
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
eyed’), alias Khaled Abu Abbes, acted as emir for Zone 9 until he recently
left for Mali as a result of leadership clashes with Droukdel. Belmokhtar
had met Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi during the year-and-a-half he had spent
in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. During this period he received military
training in the Khaldin and Jihadwal camps as well as at al-Qa’eda camps
in Jalalabad. In 1995 he was appointed emir of the GIA’s Sahara region, a
position he kept after joining the GSPC. He was also involved in kidnapping
Western tourists and in an assault on a military base in Mauritania (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2006a). During the height of Belmokhtar’s leadership
of Zone 9, his activities ran from the mountains of Djebel Boukhil, in the
province of Djelfa, to the far south, including parts of Mali, Niger, Mauritania
and Chad (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007q). In marrying the daughter of
a Tuareg notable from Mali, a valuable alliance with the Tuareg was formed
(The Independent 2004).
An investigation in December 2007 revealed that Yahia Djaouadi, alias Yahia
Abu Ammar, was the present emir of Zone 9. Information also indicated
that the activities in the south were controlled by two primary groups: the
El Moulathamoun group under the leadership of Mokhtar Belmokhtar which
focused its activities on Mauritania; and the Tarek Ibn Ziad Ou El Fatihine
group under the leadership of Hammadou Abid alias Abdelhamid Abou Zeid
which focused on Tunisia and north Mali (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007r).
The fact that Belmokhtar was relieved as emir of Zone 9 further raised the
possibility that he might operate in a semi-independent fashion, particularly
since he feared for his life as a result of his differences with Droukdel. During
2007 southern Algeria, including M’sila, Djebel Boukhil and Ain Rich, was
a terrorist hot-spot. In May 2007 Algerian security forces arrested six newly
recruited members of a terrorist group between the ages of 20 and 25 in
M’sila and six others in Ain Rich who were part of a support network (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007s).
Notwithstanding the abovementioned structure as mentioned, AQLIM decided
to restructure the organisation into four geographical focal points: Central
(Algeria); East (Tunisia); South (Sahel); and West (Mauritania). Considering its
regional ambitions it is expected that AQLIM will enhance its recruitment focus
to other nationalities in the region.
Modus operandi
Although the GSPC has predominantly focused its attention on members of the
security forces, its attack on the Hamma main electricity distribution centre in
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51
Algiers on 21 June 2004, in which 11 people were injured, might have been an
indication that it was in the process of adopting a new strategy of indiscriminate
attacks. A large section of the main wall of the state-owned Sonelgaz power
station had been ripped open and part of the plant’s façade had been destroyed.
Debris was strewn across a street and nearby windows was blown out. On 22
June the GSPC information committee accepted responsibility (AP 2004).
This attack was in addition to bogus road-blocks, assassinations and ambushes
of military convoys and security forces in isolated areas. In the name of GSPC
Emir Nabil Sahraoui, alias Abu Ibrahim Mustaha issued the Safar Ettaouil
(long journey) fatwa. This allowed members of the GSPC to kill any civilian
who was more than 50 km away from his home at bogus roadblocks (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2004c). In June 2004 the GSPC ‘declared war’ on
foreigners and companies. Sahraoui announced that ‘we are firm in adhering
to our principles and fundamentals (…) which require that jihad will continue
until all religion is God’s’. He denied that there had been any contact between
the army and the GSPC. ‘Contacts with the authorities will not happen,
because they are inconsistent with the group’s fundamentals, principles and
aims and are contrary to Islam’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004c).
This statement reflected the GSPC’s commitment to an escalation of violence
through the adoption of new methods. In addition to suicide bombings – which
will be discussed later – GSPC/AQLIM also re-activated earlier tactics adopted
by the GIA. On 13 February 1993 the first booby-trapped car bomb was used
in an attack on Defence Minister Major-General Khaled Nezzar, while on
8 October 1994 five booby-trapped cars were exploded simultaneously in
Algiers (Stora 2004:214). After 2003 there were only infrequent attacks, but on
29 October 2006 two booby-trapped vehicles were exploded overnight almost
simultaneously outside police stations in Reghaia and Dergana, in the eastern
suburbs of Algiers, killing one person and injuring 14 others. In the first attack,
a truck packed with explosives was detonated near midnight in front of the
Reghaia police station 30 km east of Algiers, killing a shopkeeper and injuring
11 policemen. Thirty minutes later a car bomb exploded in front of the police
station in Dergana, a neighbouring town, injuring three people (AFP 2007b).
Although these attacks were the first by the GSPC, they may have been a
confirmation that GSPC/AQLIM intended to change its tactics. The timing of
the attacks may have indicated that the intention was not to cause mass injuries
but to test equipment for future bombings.
Algeria’s security forces, government officials, infrastructure and the broader
public remained targets during 2007. Table 1 reflects some of GSPC/AQLIM
attacks.
52
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Table 1: Details of some GSPC/AQLIM attacks in 2007 (excluding suicide bombings)
21 January
A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated under an
army vehicle in a remote area in Jijel, 360 km east of Algiers, killing
one soldier and wounding eight others. The attack occurred on a
forest path located between the two communities of Beida and
Garoua (Associated Press [AP] 2007)
28 January
A delegation from the administrative district of Dellys had a narrow
escape when an explosive device was detonated outside the
headquarters of the Municipal People’s Assembly of Ouled Aissa,
45 km southeast of Boumerdes moments after the delegation had
left (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007t)
2 February
A home-made explosive device detonated in the change room of a
football stadium during a match (Xinhua News 2007)
7 February
An armed group killed Yakoubi Khelifa, a former mayor of
Benchoud, in the northern Algerian district of Boumerdes. Before
serving as mayor he also served in the region’s local police (Xinhua
News 2007)
13 February
Seven bomb attacks were carried out in a number of municipalities
of Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou provinces. In Boumerdes car
bombs targeting police stations in Si Mustapha, Souk el-Had and
Boumerdes left four people dead and more than ten others injured.
The most serious of these blasts took place in Si Mustapha in
the Isser district when a car bomb was exploded at 05:00 near
the police station. The blast devastated the two-storey building,
blowing out all the doors and windows and killing four civilians
in a car. In Tizi Ouzou, the bombings took place in Draa Ben
Khedda, Mekla and Illoula Oumalou (AFP 2007c)
24 February
One soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the
explosion of two IEDs in Guedarra on the heights of Thenia.
The two bombs were detonated via remote control, exploding
simultaneously as an army convoy drove by (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007u)
3 March
Three Algerians and a Russian were killed and five other people,
including two Ukrainians, were injured in a bomb attack on a bus
near the town of Ain Defla. The bus was carrying employees of
Stroytransgaz, a Russian firm laying gas mains between Ain Defla
in the Medea region, and Tiaret, 340 km southwest of Algiers (AFP
2007d)
6 March
A home-made explosive device detonated during the morning
in front of the headquarters of the (Berber) Baghlia gendarmerie
brigade (45 km east of Boumerdes) (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007v)
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53
28 March
An explosive device detonated at a Boumerdes traffic circle located
not far from the Omnisport arena. The explosion was felt throughout
the city. It did not claim any victims but it caused structural
damage. According to sources, the device was meant for the head
of Boumerdes’s Judicial Police Mobile Brigade who often used this
route, which was also frequented by pedestrians. Two vehicles, a
restaurant, a cafeteria and the headquarters of Boumerdes’s National
Housing Fund were damaged in the explosion. A mobile phone was
used to detonate the device. This attack occurred two weeks after
the break-up of two terrorist networks, one in Zemmouri and the
other in Sidi Daoud (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007w)
1 April
The natural gas pipeline between Skikda and Jijel, which supplied
residents of the Jijel Province, was blown up 300 km east of Algiers
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007x)
15 April
A gendarme was seriously wounded in the explosion of two IEDs
in Si Mustapha, a municipality located 20 km east of Boumerdes.
The two devices, which were set off remotely, exploded almost
simultaneously as a patrol from the National Gendarmerie was
driving past in the spot known as Boudhar, on the road linking Si
Mustapha and Zemmouri (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007y)
11 May
A municipal guard was killed and two others were wounded in
an IED attack in the Beni Mahboub region, El Milia, 50 km east of
Algiers (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ai)
11 May
An explosive device detonated in the municipality of Settara,
seriously wounding a 52-year-old municipal guard. This region,
bordering on Skikda Province, still remained infested by small
terrorist groups despite large-scale operations carried out by the
forces of the National People’s Army (ANP) in previous months
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007z)
16 May
A small explosive device detonated near a police roadblock in
eastern Algerian on the eve of parliamentary elections, killing one
policeman and wounding at least two other people. The device,
inside a package, went off in the poor Daksi neighbourhood of the
city of Constantine, 320 km east of Algiers (Reuters 2007c)
16 May
Two explosive devices hidden in plastic bags were detonated in the
working-class Daksi district of Constantine, Algeria’s third-largest
city. One blast occurred near a cafe and the other in the centre of
a traffic circle. The bombs had been planned to go off at a nearby
market before police intercepted the man carrying them (Reuters
2007c)
17 May
An explosive device detonated damaging a gas pipeline station in
Jijel (Maghreb Confidential 2007)
54
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
29 May
An unidentified group kidnapped Amjad Wahbah (26), the regional
director of an Egyptian-Algerian trading and manufacturing
company and an affiliate of the Orascom group. Wahbah, an
engineer, was abducted near his residence in Tizi Ouzou, eastern
Algeria. The operation was the eighth of its kind since December
2005. Seven Algerians were also kidnapped for ransom. However,
this was the first time that a foreigner had been abducted since the
kidnapping of 32 Western tourists in 2002. Wahbah was released
on 8 September 2007 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aa)
6 June
An explosive device hidden in a plastic bag exploded in front of
the gate of the Tizi Ouzou bus station. The bomb, detonated at
10:45, killed a policeman and injured eight other people (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007ab)
7 June
Three soldiers were killed and another seven were injured in an
IED attack in the Beni-Ksila region, 230 km east of Algiers. The
roadside bomb, which was triggered by remote control, targeted an
army patrol (AP 2007a)
11 June
A bomb was defused at a bus station in Tizi Ouzou. The lowpowered booby-trap device was found by the driver of a bus
coming from Boghni (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ac)
13 June
Three people were wounded in an explosion in front of a cell
phone store in Zemouri in the Boumerdes region. The attack came
after a court in the region had convicted more than 40 terrorist
suspects (AP 2007b)
22 June
Security forces prevented an attack on a major gas pipeline
between the community of Draa El-Misan and the Aomar train
station. The pipeline supplies large areas of Bouira and Tizi Ouzou.
An attack on the same day the previous year on the same pipeline
resulted in the cutting off of gas supplies to Tizi Ouzou and a large
part of Bouira for four days (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ad)
26 June
ANP explosives experts successfully defused two explosive devices
that had been planted at the Aathouth bridge in the municipality of
Fenaia, on the road between El-Kseur and Adekar in the province of
Bejaia, 260 km east of Algiers (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ae)
5 July
An IED was remotely detonated near a car carrying Hocine
Mazouz, the governor of Tizi Ouzou, to a commemoration
ceremony in the town of Ait Yahia. He was unharmed, but a
policeman was injured (Reuters 2007d)
14 August
A car bomb in Larbaa, an eastern Algiers suburb, severely wounded
Mustapha Kertali, a former militant leader of the AIS who had
supported the government’s efforts to end the violence (Dow Jones
International News 2007)
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11 September
A powerful explosion targeting the Tamchit apartment complex
in Batna resulted in the injury of two children. The attack was
reportedly the work of a group active in the Lahmar Kheddou
region, extending as far as M’chouneche in the Biskra region (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007af)
13 September
An explosive device in a market in the city of Chemora, Batna
Province, 440 km south-east of Algiers, was defused as a result of
the vigilance of community members (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007ag)
14 September
Eight people were wounded when an explosive device hidden in a
bag exploded outside a compound housing Algerian police officials
in Zemmouri, 50 km east of Algiers, at about 17:30 (Dow Jones
International News 2007a)
25 September
Two policemen were killed in an explosion in Les Issers, 70 km east
of Algiers, in the province of Boumerdes. The Les Issers Katibat was
suspected of responsibility for the attack (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007ah)
26 September
A businessman from Tizi Ghennif, 80 km east of Algiers, was
kidnapped by an armed group in Touzaline, between Chabet and
Souk El Had, in the province of Boumerdes (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007aj)
27 September
Two soldiers were killed in an explosion in Sidi Ali Bounab, on the
heights of Naciria, 45 km east of Boumerdes, 90 km east of Algiers
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aj)
27 September
Three municipal guards were killed on the edge of the city of
Tadmait, 15 km west of Tizi Ouzou, which is 85 km east of Algiers.
The three victims were on a bus heading towards Ait Razdine, a
village located on the heights of Tadmait, when the bus was stopped
at a bogus roadblock. Two guards were shot while the third had his
throat cut (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ak)
28 September
One soldier was killed and two were injured when an IED exploded
in a wooded area near the town of Ain Ben Soltane, in the Sidi BelAbbes region, 450 km west of Algiers (AP 2007c)
7 October
A remotely controlled explosive device was detonated in Taouarga,
in Boumerdes, as a military patrol went past, killing three soldiers
and wounding three others (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007al)
8 October
An explosive device was detonated in Souma, Thenia, wounding a
Patriot guarding equipment for a company doing work in the region
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007al)
8 October
An explosive device partially destroyed a police surveillance post
near Tassalast beach in Tigzirt in Tizi Ouzou (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007al)
56
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
10 November
A car bomb was detonated at 20:30, badly damaging a police station
in Maatkas, 80 km east of Algiers, and wounding several people
(Trend News Agency 2007)
9 December
A roadside IED detonated by a mobile phone targeted a convoy of
workers of the Russian Stroytrans Gas company – the same company
whose workers had been targeted in Ain Defla in February. The
attack occurred as the Russian workers were on their way back to El
Hayat base in the Baouaiche Municipality, west of Medea. A second
roadside bomb was defused (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007am)
22 December
Security forces defused three roadside IEDs in the Yakouren forest
in Bejaia, 260 km east of Algiers (Dow Jones International News
2007b)
23 December
Three soldiers were seriously injured in a roadside IED attack in the
Khenchela region in the Aures Mountains (Dow Jones International
News 2007b)
26 December
A roadside IED targeting a police patrol exploded east of Algiers,
killing two policemen and injuring two others (AP 2007d)
Figure 2: Modus operandi of GSPC/AQLIM, 2005–2007
80
78
70
60
50
40
40
30
32
22
20
17
14
10
2005
2006
Firearms
2007
Explosives
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57
In addition to these attacks, GSPC/AQLIM continued their campaign of
kidnapping as a strategy to raise funds for its activities. The targets were
mainly Algerian nationals. New tactics included a rocket-propelled grenade
attack on a military cargo plane at Djanet airport on 8 November 2007.
This attack surprised the security forces (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007an).
The graphical presentation in Figure 2 reflects important changes in the
GSPC/AQLIM modus operandi during the past three years, with particular
reference to the use of explosives. As mentioned earlier, the name change set
a new ‘standard’ in attracting attention and created an impression of strength.
It also reflected a new tactic, namely suicide bombings. Another possible
explanation for the change in tactics might relate to the actual strength of
the organisation: it is to be expected that an organisation that keeps losing
experienced fighters will opt for a less confrontational strategy. This explains
the growing use of explosives rather than firearms, when the attacker might
be killed in the attack. The use of explosives also allowed a small experienced
core group of extremists to build the devices, with delivery being in the
hands of less experienced fighters or suicide bombers, who can be replaced
more easily than experienced fighters.
It was to be expected that the growing possibility of suicide operations
became a reality after the formal alignment of the GSPC with al-Qa’eda. Since
the GSPC accepted the strategy and philosophical principles of al-Qa’eda it
should also adopt its tactics and modus operandi. Since the name change
Algeria has witnessed a number of suicide attacks, which were previously
uncommon in a country that had experienced 17 years of terrorism, an
exception being in January 1995 when the GIA claimed responsibility for a
suicide car bomb directed at police headquarters in Algiers (US Department
of State 1996:18). Suicide attacks, as well as a few other attacks, are
presented in Map 2. Suicide operations are indicated in gray.
The identity of suicide bombers:
•
Merouane Boudina (23), one of the 11 April suicide bombers, was one of
ten brothers and sisters from a poor Algiers suburb. According to media
reports, Boudina had been in and out of jail for drug trafficking before he
disappeared a few months before the attacks (Lewis 2007)
•
Mouloud Benchiheb, a multiple offender from a district of central Algiers,
was recruited by the GSPC while serving a prison sentence for drug
dealing (Lewis 2007)
58
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
Sohaib Abu Malih, the suicide bomber in the 11 July attack, was one of
four youths who had joined the group approximately a month before the
attack (Meftahi 2007)
•
Othman Abu Jafar was responsible for the attack on 21 September in
which two French nationals, one Italian, their Algerian driver and five
gendarmes were injured. In this attack a Mazda vehicle with 250 kg
of explosives targeted a convoy of construction workers at a dam in
al-Hamman village, Al-Mu’allah, between Lakhdaria and the village of
Maala, 100 km east of Algiers (BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007)
•
Belazrag el-Houari, alias Abu Al-Miqdad al-Wahrani, was identified
as being involved in the 6 September attack in Batna (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007ao)
•
The 8 September suicide attackers on the naval barracks in Dellys
included Nabil Belkacemi (15), alias Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi, who was
from a suburb of Algiers. Although he had not shown any tendencies
towards extremism, he had visited the mosque whose imam was later
identified as a recruiter for GSPC/AQLIM (Mail and Guardian 2007)
•
At 09:30 on 11 December two separate suicide truck bombs targeting
the Algerian Constitutional Council in the Hydra area and the UN
building housing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN
Development Programme in the Ben Aknoun district resulted in the death
of 37 people (including 17 UN staff members) and the injury of 170 others
(Meftahi 2007). GSPC/AQLIM claimed responsibility on the internet for
the attack, stating that: ‘(…) this is another successful conquest (...) carried
out by the Knights of the Faith with their blood in defence of the wounded
nation of Islam’. The UN office was described as ‘the headquarters of the
international infidels’ den’. The message concluded: ‘The conquest comes
to remind the Crusaders who are occupying our land and the plunderers of
our wealth that they should listen carefully to the demands and speeches
of our sheik, Osama bin laden, God protect him.’ Both vehicles were
loaded with 800 kg of explosives (Nasrawi 2007). The suicide bombers
were identified as Rabbah Bechla (64), alias Ibrahim Abu Othman, who
attacked the UN building, and Larbi Charef (32), alias Abdel-Rahman Abu
Abdel-Nasser al-Assimi, who attacked the constitutional council building.
Bechla, previously associated with the FIS, was said to be in the advanced
stages of cancer (Ouali 2007). Charef, who grew up in Oued Ouchayeh
(a poor neighbourhood in Algiers), was arrested and prosecuted in 2004
for being part of a logistical support network linked to the GSPC. After his
Anneli Botha
59
release in the reconciliation process of 2006, Charef left for the mountains,
where he received his training (Dow Jones International News 2007c).
Both targets were symbolic: the UN was perceived as an enemy of Islam,
while the constitutional court was overseeing elections that represented
the illegitimacy of the Algerian government
Map 2: Suicide operations in Algeria
14 Sept 07: 8 people were wounded in an
explosion that targeted a police housing complex
in Zemmouri 50 kilometers east of Algiers.
8 Sept 07: A car bomb targeting a
barracks killed 28 coast guard officers
in Dellys (100 km east of Algiers)
11 April 07: Three suicide bombers targeted
prime minister’s office and a police station in
Bab Ezzouar, killing at least 24 people
11 Dec 07: Twin suicide truck bombs targeted the
Algerian Constitutional Council and the United
Nations building housing the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees and the UN Development Programme
9 Dec 06: Explosive device was
hurled and shots fired at two
vehicles carrying employees of BRC,
killing one driver and injuring nine.
3 March 07: Three Algerians
and a Russian were killed in a
bomb attack on a bus. 5 people
were injured in the attack.
13 Feb 07: 7 explosive devices
detonated in Tizi Ouzou and
Bourmedes killing 6 and wounding
13 (booby-trapped cars)
11 July 07: 10 soldiers were killed
and 35 people injured when a
suicide bomber drove a truck of
explosives into the barracks in
Lakhdaria village near Bouira.
6 Sept 07: A suicide bomber
detonated an explosive in a
crowd of people that waited for
Pres Boutiflika
21 Sept 07: A suicide bomber
targeted a convoy of foreign
workers employed by a French
company near al-Hamman
village, Al-Mu’allah near
Lakhdaria
University of Texas at Austin: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
60
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
There were also changes in target selection during the past three years. While
GSPC/AQLIM started to include suicide operations in its modus operandi,
its target selection remained predominantly directed against members of the
security forces as representatives of the government. Nonetheless in the past
two years, the modus operandi changed from discriminate to indiscriminate
attacks, resulting in an increase in the number of civilian casualties (see
Figure 3).
Attacks against foreigners
The fear that Algerian militants might redirect their attacks from Algerian
security forces to foreign interests was also fulfilled on 10 December 2006
when armed assailants attacked a bus carrying BRC employees on their way
from their offices to the Sheraton Hotel in Bouchaoui, 15 km west of Algiers.
Soon aferwards, on 28 January 2007, GSPC/AQLIM detonated an explosive
device directed against a delegation from the administrative district of Dellys,
Boumerdes, outside the headquarters of the Municipal People’s Assembly
of Ouled Aissa (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ap). The delegation,
which was choosing the location of the future headquarters of the same
community’s municipal guard, symbolically announced that the low-intensity
conflict that started in 1992 might not be over, as hoped, with the Algerian
government’s Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.
An escalation of attacks directed against foreigners was confirmed in a
statement by Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, leader of GSPC/AQLIM on 8
January 2007, which read: ‘To Algerians I say (...) the French and the allies
of Crusaders who occupy our land [Islamic countries] are within your reach
and so are the throats of those who sold the blood of martyrs.’ This was a
reference to the rebellion that had ousted French troops from Algeria five
decades earlier. ‘We are impatiently awaiting your [bin Laden’s] instructions
and recommendations for the coming period’ (Reuters 2007e).
In a subsequent letter, Osama bin Laden wrote in February 2007:
(…) There is no objection, God willing, to what you are planning.
That infidel country [France] has colonised the Muslim countries
for a long time, and here it is today backing with all its might the
group of infidels that is ruling the land of Algeria with iron and
fire. The Islamic duty obligates us to fight that country even on its
own ground, particularly as it is pursuing the Mujahideen on its
territories and in neighbouring countries and subjecting them to
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61
Figure 3: GSPC/AQLIM target selection, 2005–2007
Target Selection: 2005
Civilian
21%
Commercial
2%
Government
3%
Security Forces/
Civilians
6%
Security Forces
21%
Target Selection: 2006
Civilian
26%
Security Forces/
Civilians
14%
Commercial
8%
Government
5%
Security Forces
22%
Target Selection: 2007
Civilian
14%
Security Forces/
Civilians
12%
Commercial
9%
Government
6%
Security Forces
52%
62
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
harm and hatching conspiracies against them. It is unquestionably
an ally for the Americans and Jews. Stemming from the responsibility
of brotherhood in religion and the duty to extend support and
cooperation, we urge our Muslim brothers everywhere to express
their support and solidarity with you, to assist and back you with
what they can and whatever is available to them, and to pray for
you and impart their advice and guidance. From our side, and while
taking precautions, we have given orders to contact you in order to
agree on the targets most painful to the enemy in the east and west
of its country (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aq) .
The focus on foreign, particularly French, interests can almost be described
as a return to the initial focus of the GIA. The first attack on foreigners was
recorded on 21 September 1993 when two French surveyors were found
with their throats cut near Sidi Bel Abbes (Stora 2004:215).
However, this rhetoric was not new. In 1992 a FIS publication stated:
Crusader France and some of its leaders of unbelief and atheism
are working to encircle the FIS leaders who are abroad to impose a
political blockade on the voices calling for the right to the Umma and
the building of an Islamic state on Algerian soil (…) Atheist France
is not content with its support for the just junta; it has even gone so
far as to supply it with sophisticated military materiel such as night
combat helicopters and chemical bombs which exterminate living
things without destroying buildings (Gunaratna 2002:162).
In August 2005 the GSPC appealed to its supporters to carry out terrorist
operations targeting Algerian officials in France: ‘Our real enemies are not
[Algerian] military officials only but civilians who pay their allegiance to
French leaders. Support your brothers in Algeria by tracking down these
criminals in France’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005b). The GSPC also
suggested that its brothers search casinos and discotheques, if they cannot
eliminate Algerian civil leaders, and target French Muslims who ‘launched
a denunciation campaign among Islamic communities’ (PanAfrican News
Agency 2005).
In a September 2006 video message commemorating 9/11, al-Zawahiri said:
‘We pray to God that the GSPC will be a thorn in the throats of the American
and French Crusaders and their allies (…) This should be a source of
chagrin, frustration and sadness for the traitors and apostate sons of France’
(Naravane 2006).
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63
This call was echoed by al-Zawahiri in a video message on 20 September
2007, when he called for the ‘cleansing’ of French and Spaniards from
Al-Andalus, the area of Spain and Portugal ruled by Muslims from the eighth
century until the Christian conquest in the 15th century:
Oh our Muslim nation in the Maghreb (...) restoring Al-Andalus is a
trust on the shoulders of the nation in general and on your shoulders in
particular, and you will not be able to do that without first cleansing the
Muslim Maghreb of the children of France and Spain, who have come
back again after your fathers and grandfathers sacrificed their blood
cheaply in the path of God to expel them. So be faithful to your religion
(...) and to the blood of your fathers, and stand with your sons the
Mujahideen against the Crusaders and their children (Eatwell 2007).
A day after the suicide bomber targeted employees from Razel, a French
company busy with the construction of a dam at al-Hamman village, Al-Mu’allah
in Lakhdaria, Abu Mohamed Salah, a spokesperson for GSPC/AQLIM, claimed
responsibility for the attack (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ar).
The attack on 11 December 2007 signalled GSPC/AQLIM’s intentions not
to limit their attacks to foreign workers and companies, but to target others,
including humanitarian and diplomatic representatives.
Alignment with al-Qa’eda
Links between the Afghan Mujahideen and extremists groups and their
leaders in Algeria have already been referred to. Al-Qa’eda also managed to
get gradual access to the GSPC network in Europe, allowing al-Qa’eda to use
these networks – the subject of a discussion in a later chapter. In addition to
the ideological link, Osama bin Laden continued to support the training of GIA
and later GSPC members in his camps in Afghanistan until 2001. According to
Jane’s Defence, approximately 2 800 Algerians had passed through al-Qa’eda
training camps in Afghanistan, making Algeria the third-largest contributor of
manpower to al-Qa’eda after Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Through this strategy
of providing training, al-Qa’eda also managed to establish alliances with
followers from these organisations. In addition to providing training, Mokhtar
Belmokhtar confirmed that Osama bin Laden, while based in Sudan, was in
direct contact with the GIA, including later members of the GSPC. With the
assistance of Dr Hassan al-Turabi, bin Laden opened training camps, including
for Algerians, or those willing to participate in the conflict in Algeria. This step
led ultimately to the cancellation of diplomatic relations with Sudan. Tunisia
64
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
is another country (as part of current discussion) that suspended diplomatic
relations with Sudan in the early 1990s, over Khartoum’s alleged support for
the Nahda party. In addition to Sudan’s role in the conflict in Algeria, Sudan
also provided assistance to Egyptian terrorists in their attempt to assassinate
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. These and other activities
led to the fact that Sudan was categorized as a state sponsor of terrorism.
As mentioned earlier, al-Qa’eda influenced the GSPC’s split from the GIA. At
a leadership level, bin Laden was also in contact with Hassan Hattab. Through
training at al-Qa’eda camps, al-Qa’eda operatives began to interact with the
GSPC’s followers. Loyalty to bin Laden subsequently led to clashes within
the GSPC. Consequently al-Qa’eda’s leadership sent a Yemeni al-Qa’eda
lieutenant, Emad Abdelwahid Ahmed Alwan (killed during September 2002
in a gun-battle 435 km east of Algiers) to meet Hassan Hattab in an attempt
to convince the GSPC’s leadership to internationalise its operations (Meftahi
2007). Allegedly, Alwan was instrumental in helping al-Qa’eda fighters from
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia to settle in Yemen after the US
invasion in Afghanistan (Reuters 2002). Hattab favoured a relationship with
al-Qa’eda in which the GSPC should retain its Algerian character. In other
words, according to Hattab, the GSPC should have remained independent.
This meant that Hattab had to be replaced, and this was made possible
through inner conflict.
Hattab’s first successor as emir of the GSPC, Nabil Sahraoui, alias Abu
Ibrahim Mustafa, allowed al-Qa’eda’s influence to become more visible
through the statements made by Nabil Sahraoui before his death in June
2004. In a statement in October 2003, Sahraoui urged Muslims to unite
‘to raise the flag of jihad for Allah, be it in Palestine, in Afghanistan under
the banner of Mullah Omar (...) and under the banner of the al-Qa’eda
organisation in the emirate of Sheik Osama bin Laden’ (Ouali 2003). In a
similar tone: ‘We strongly and fully support Osama bin Laden’s jihad against
the heretic America as well as we support our brothers in Afghanistan, the
Philippines, and Chechnya’ (Dow Jones International News 2004). In a
statement published on 13 June 2004, Sahraoui, in addition to his support to
al-Qa’eda, provided insight into the GSPC’s domestic intentions: ‘The Salafist
Group for Combat and Preaching decides (...) to declare war on everything
that is foreign and atheistic within Algeria’s borders, whether against
individuals, interests or installations’ (Reuters 2004).
Nonetheless, Sahraoui’s successor, Abu Musab Abdelouadoud, officially
aligned the GSPC with al-Qa’eda. This alignment made practical sense: the
GSPC in staying independent could essentially no longer justify its existence.
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Consequently the GSPC began, as had the GIA, to lose ground as it began to
target the civilian population. Momentum was also lost as ordinary Algerian
people became ‘sick and tired’ of violence and through the reconciliation
process (that will be discussed in a later chapter) the GSPC – as groups
before – began to lose less committed footsoldiers. This was an opportunity
that the Algerian political leadership seized in reaffirming its commitment to
its reconciliation programme for those who wish to ‘repent’. As a matter of
survival, the GSPC had to adopt the new strategy of aligning itself formally with
al-Qa’eda in reaction to President Bouteflika’s referendum on 29 September
2005 in which he introduced the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.
Consequently, the Algerian government began to consider the remnants of the
GSPC as a few thugs who no longer posed a significant threat to its security.
For example, during a visit to Tunisia on 31 January 2007, Deputy Interior
Minister Dahou Ould Kabilya made the following statements with reference
to the GSPC: ‘[the GSPC/AQLIM] has been almost totally eradicated and no
longer poses a serious threat.’ With reference to the threat the new AQLIM
might pose to foreign interests, the minister stated: ‘They could decide to
attack a foreigner, an American or someone they consider their enemy, but
it would be an isolated act and we have taken the necessary measures so
that this won’t happen.’ With reference to links with al-Qa’eda, the minister
further stated: ‘Apart from verbal messages of support, there has never
been, to our knowledge, direct aid from al-Qa’eda to the Algerians (of the
GSPC), either in terms of logistics and material, or in the financial sphere’
(AFP 2007d). Unmistakably, organisations that could pose a threat to regime
security had been defeated, but one might question whether the GSPC or
AQLIM really wanted a regime change and whether government at that stage
realised that the GSPC/AQLIM had another strategy in mind?
In aligning itself with al-Qa’eda, the following is self-evident:
•
A commitment to al-Qa’eda’s cause in current hotspots (Iraq and
Afghanistan), including recruitment
•
The re-direction and utilisation of the GSPC network in Europe, in
particular France, but also facilitating attacks against foreigners as part of
al-Qa’eda’s broader agenda
•
Tactics that would include the use of suicide bombings
•
A change in focus from a national to a regional perspective. In other
words, a growing influence in the Maghreb
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Regional profile
Only in Algeria jihadists managed to get a foothold that extends beyond
a few acts of terrorism, making Algeria the centre where terrorists in the
region can look to for guidance. The growing influence of the GSPC in the
Maghreb region, despite the decline in the number of attacks in Algeria, is
an unfortunate reality. Since extremists in Tunisia and Morocco were unable
to establish the same level of activities as in Algeria, Algeria incorporated
Moroccan, Libyan, Tunisian and Mauritanian extremists for a number of
years. Individuals such as Mustapha Nasri Ait El Hadi, a Tunisian, for example,
aligned themselves with the GSPC (Reuters 2003). In order to achiever closer
cooperation, Rashid Bukhalfa, alias Abu Doha or ‘the Doctor’, the GSPC’s
point person in London, met Seifallah Ben Hassine, the emir of the Tunisians,
in 1998. As a result of this close cooperation, Ben Hassine sent Tunisians
to fight in Algeria (Vidino 2006:143; 147). The following discussion, as well
as the respective chapters dealing with Tunisia and Morocco, will present
additional examples.
The GSPC therefore developed as a transnational terror organisation. In
addition to training being provided to foreign nationals in mobile training
camps, Algerian security forces also made a number of arrests involving
individuals from neighbouring countries. Although not a new development,
this strategy will have an impact on broader regional security. This was
particularly so after Emir Nabil Sahraoui initiated a new strategy in October
2003 in which he specifically recruited 15 Libyan and Tunisian Islamists who
had returned from al-Qa’eda training camps in Afghanistan (AFP 2003a). In
May 2007, Algerian security forces arrested three Libyans, former Afghan
veterans between the ages of 22 and 25, after they had been recruited
in Libya. In an attempt to conceal their intentions, the three suspects first
travelled as tourists to Morocco and Algeria. On a previous occasion,
Tunisian nationals first travelled to Egypt before flying to Algeria. Between
January and mid-May 2007, 20 Tunisians were arrested and returned. In
addition to Libyan and Tunisian nationals, Algerian authorities also arrested
Moroccan, Mauritanian, Nigerian and Malian nationals (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007as).
The decision of the GSPC to align itself formally with al-Qa’eda formalised
relations between jihadists in the region and introduced a new phase in the
threat to security in Algeria and in the region as a whole. Notwithstanding the
initiation of this specific campaign to include Tunisian, Moroccan and other
nationalities in its operations, the GSPC structure in Europe had incorporated
Moroccan and Tunisian nationals for a number of years prior. For example
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Italian investigators into organised crime and money laundering since 2001
uncovered a GSPC cell in Milan in June 2003 that included a Moroccan and
five Tunisians, including El Mahfoudi Mohamed, a Moroccan-born imam
based at Gallarate mosque, north of Milan and Abdooui Iyousef who was the
leader of the cell.
Explaining the importance of European networks in the operation of terrorism
structures in North Africa in 2007, authorities in Italy and the UK arrested
nine Tunisians who allegedly provided financial and logistical support to the
network of GSPC/AQLIM involved in the April bombings in Algiers as well
as in the shootouts with Tunisian authorities in December 2006 and January
2007. Among those arrested was Habib Ignaoua (46) who was arrested in
London, while in Italy the prime suspect was identified as Essid Sami Ben
Khemais (again referred to in Chapter 5) who was about to be released after
a six-year sentence when the warrant was served (Rossi and Gumuchian
2007). In addition to recruiting fighters in Europe for training in Afghanistan
before being sent to Algeria, Tunisia, Chechnya, Bosnia or Afghanistan,
the Milan cell provided false documents as well as safe havens, vehicles,
communication and financial resources channelled through Europe, North
Africa and the Middle East (Dow Jones International News 2007d).
Although extremist elements originally from Algeria have been implicated in
a number of transnational terror networks, the operational reach of GSPC/
AQLIM was concentrated in Algeria until terrorists ambushed an army patrol
in Mauritania in June 2005 during which 15 soldiers were killed. Mokhtar
Belmokhtar, the former emir of Zone 9, claimed responsibility for this attack,
referring to the operation as ghazouat Badr (invasion of Badr). The attackers
lost six men, identified by Belmokhtar as Abu Ishak Ibrahim, the head of the
assault group, Assem Abu Said, Abu Doujana, Abdelhakim, Bachir Abu Al
Barra and Abu Mohamed Al Jinki (a Mauritanian) (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2006a). The attackers identified themselves with al-Qa’eda and received
immediate congratulatory messages on the internet from other affiliates of
al-Qa’eda. Among the most noticeable was one message from the Iraq-based
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (leader of al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which later changed
its name to al-Qa’eda in Iraq). Following the attack on the Mauritanian army,
the 6 July issue of Morocco’s leading newspaper, The Liberation, reported
that al-Qa’eda had the grand objective of establishing terrorist bases in the
Sahel similar to those existing in Afghanistan before the Taliban regime was
dismantled. The remote nature of the Sahel made it difficult to control and
patrol, allowing terrorists to use the terrain to their advantage. Documents
seized by Mauritanian security forces from a local Islamist extremist group
contained detailed instructions for staging attacks on targets within and
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
beyond the Sahel. The documents included a list of key leaders targeted for
assassination, starting with Mauritanian Prime Minister Sghair Ould M’bareck
(Mbuvi 2005).
The involvement and reach of GSPC/AQLIM was again questioned when on
24 December 2007 a small group of armed men attacked a French family
on El Amel Road outside Aleg Town, east of Nouakchott. This attack was
followed by an attack on a military base on 30 December near Galaouia,
250 km north of Attar, in which three soldiers were killed (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007at). In an audio tape broadcast by al-Arabiya, GSPC/AQLIM
claimed responsibility for this attack (Mohamed 2007). Although authorities in
Mauritania blamed robbers for the attack they later blamed Salafi extremists
and arrested a few Salafi activists, including Sidi Ould Sidina, Mohamed
Ould Chebarnou and Moustapha Ould Abdelkader, who allegedly had
relations with AQLIM (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007au). According to
Mauritanian security forces the suspects, whom they described as terrorists,
were part of a sleeper cell. The public prosecutor’s office announced that ‘the
attack was carried out by three known members of the Algeria-based terror
network al-Qa’eda in Islamic North Africa’ (Mohamed 2007a). These attacks
placed renewed emphasis on AQLIM’s regional expansion after changing its
structure to four basic zones:
•
•
•
•
Central – Algeria
East – Tunisia
South – Sahel
West – Mauritania
On the eastern border with Tunisia, the year 2007 started with a confrontation
with security forces near Tunis during which 14 members of the group were
killed. It is suspected that the group planned terrorist attacks (AFP 2007d).
In addition to this incident, the impact of the former GSPC and now AQLIM
extends well beyond Algeria. This impact will be discussed in the chapters
dealing with Morocco and Tunisia.
Suggested links between jihadists in Algeria, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan
were also raised when Madjid Habib, who was abducted on 28 April 2007
for ransom near Tizi Ouzou, spoke of his experience after being released in
September 2007:
They were in contact with some people in Somalia when there were
problems in that country. They also called Iraq and Afghanistan two
or three times. They had available to them a shopping bag full of
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mobile telephone cards, each of which they used for two or three
calls before destroying them (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007av).
Influence of GSPC/AQLIM on the south: Mobile training camps
The influence of the GSPC is clearly not limited to Algeria. While neighbouring
countries were predominantly used to support operations in Algeria during
the 1990s, the GSPC realised the importance of neighbouring countries as
its influence in Algeria decreased. Through acting as a base of operations
well beyond Algeria, the GSPC became a regional actor to be reckoned
with. Although the Algerian activities of the GSPC declined gradually after
2001, its threat to stability in the region increased. The first exchange of light
weapons fire between members of the GSPC and Mali security forces on
11 April 2004, 200 km from the Algerian border, served to announce the
GSPC’s intentions to extend its operations beyond Algeria’s southern border.
It became clear that the intention of the terrorists was not to kill members of
the security forces.
This incident should be seen in the light of the high level of resistance
Abderrazak El Para of the GSPC at that time encountered from security
forces in Niger and Chad when he attempted to set up bases in those
two countries. Previously Mali was used as a base by the GSPC after
the group had kidnapped a group of Western tourists in 2003 (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2004d). Following this incident, six Malians and
one Mauritanian took an active part in terrorist activities carried out by the
GSPC in Saleh countries and beyond. In particular, they provided weapons
that terrorists from the GSPC were meant to have smuggled into Algeria in
January 2004. These weapons were intercepted on 23 January 2004 by the
Algerian army in the region of Ain Salah in Algerian territory. The following
were implicated:
•
Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Abderrahman Ould Meiddou, an officer
of the Malian armed forces
•
Commander Seidou Safari, an officer of the Malian armed forces
•
Ben Salah Osmane, a Malian soldier
•
Baba Ould Chouikh, a Malian businessman in the town of Gao, Mali
•
Mohamed Ould Laouinet, a Malian
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
Mustapha Ould Laouinet, brother of the above, both based in Gao,
Mali
•
Abdelfettah Ould Marakchi (54), a Mauritanian businessman residing
in Nouakchott, and the son of Merakchi Ould Ghade and Mounira bin
Taleb (UN Security Council 2004:11)
In June 2004 the GSPC established the Sahara Katibat, based in the Tibesti
mountains, for the purpose of recruiting new members from Chad, Sudan,
Libya, Mali and Mauritania, and training them in the use of firearms and
explosives (The Independent 2004). Libyan authorities even discovered GSPC
training camps in the Tibetsi Mountains on Libya’s border with Chad – before
Ayman al-Zawahiri announced in an audiotape posted on the internet on 3
November 2007 that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LFG) had joined the
al-Qa’eda network (AFP 2007e). Abu Laith Al-Libi, a leading figure in the
LFG, expressed interest in joining al-Qa’eda, while leading figures of the LFG
in Libya were negotiating with the Libyan authorities. Previously headed by
Abderrezak El Para, the camps in Tibesti trained Libyan, Sudanese, Chadian,
Malian and Mauritanian nationals (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004e).
In addition to Mali, Niger also expressed concern over the use of
uncontrolled territories by GSPC/AQLIM. Even Nigeria in the south
revealed after the arrest of Mallam Mohammed Ashafa, the leader of the
Nigerian Taliban, that GSPC training facilities in Niger were used. According
to Nigerian security personnel, Mallam Mohammed Ashafa contacted,
sponsored and assisted Isam Adam Sukur, Ahamed Taifi, Babagana
Abdulkarim Galtamari and 18 other Mujahideen fighters, members of the
militia arm of the Nigerian Taliban, to receive combat training on terrorism
from a GSPC camp at Agwan, Niger. Ashafa also gave large sums of
money to Isam Adam Sukur and Ahamed Taifi with the intention that the
money would be used to receive military training from the GSPC in Niger.
According to court proceedings, his network in Nigeria specialised in
gathering information and carrying out terrorist attacks on the residences
of US citizens living in Nigeria. Ashafa was also charged with ‘receiving
money from Talha and Na’deem (al-Qa’eda operatives) of the Tabliqh
headquarters, Lahore, Pakistan, for recruiting and training terrorists, whose
main objective was to attack residences of Americans living in Nigeria’
(Ige and Shaibu 2006). In January 2007, a Nigerian court also heard that
Mallam Bello Ilyas Damagum, allegedly a member of the Nigerian Taliban,
had sent 14 young militants abroad to attend the Ummul Qurah Islamic
training camp in Mauritania. Those who received training included Nura
Umar, Abdul Aziz Hamza and Mohammed Ibrahim. Allegedly Damagum in
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2002 also received $300 000 from al-Qa’eda in Sudan. This was kept in a
London bank and used for recruiting members (Rabiu, 2007).
Mohammed Damagun, a director of a prominent newspaper in northern
Nigeria, was also standing trial for allegedly funding 17 Taliban fighters to
be trained in Mauritania. Damagun allegedly provided $300 000 for this
purpose (Mahtani 2007). Following these developments, in October 2007
Nigerian security officers arrested Abubakar Haruna and Isah A in Kano, who
allegedly attended a training camp in Algeria. Incriminating documentation
and firearms were found in their possession (BBC Monitoring Africa 2007b).
Again in November 2007, nine suspects were arrested in Kano, Kaduna and
Yobe. Nigerian security forces charged several suspects, including Omar
Husseni, Abubakar Adamu Kamba, Awwalu Haruna and Dauda Abduamid,
with receiving training in Algeria by GSPC/AQLIM until August 2007. The
suspects were arrested in possession of firearms, ammunition and material to
construct explosive devices (BBC Monitoring Africa 2007).
Although only limited information is available on the Nigerian Taliban, note
that there is no links with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The group, which
consisted of an unknown number of supporters, was responsible for a number
of attacks directed at police stations and government buildings in northeast
Nigeria during 2003 and 2004 (Reuters 2007j). After counter operations
involving the Nigerian police and military, the Nigerian Taliban splintered off
to the Mandara Mountains bordering Cameroon (Agyeman 2007).
Mobile training camps are being used to train local individuals from the
region as well as new recruits from Europe on their way to Iraq, in addition to
their deployment in operations in the region. In this regard, Algeria serves as
a first base for foreign fighters bound for Iraq, including those from Algeria’s
neighbours. For example, Mbark el-Jaffari was arrested in February 2007 in
Reus, Spain, on suspicion of recruiting 32 Iraqi suicide bombers from May
2006. Before being sent to Iraq, those recruited were first sent to Algeria to
receive training (AFP 2007f).
The camps training nationals from Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Nigeria, Niger,
Mali and Senegal (Saleh and England 2007) are mobile in the real sense of the
word in that according to vehicle tracks, small groups receive basic training
in the use of firearms and explosives as well as ideological indoctrination for
no longer than a few days before the camps move on. Gathering information
without access to a satellite feed is challenging. However, through visiting
the region, interacting with individuals in the region and applying previous
72
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Map 3: Mobile training camps and areas of concern in Mali
Area predominately
used for mobile
training camps
Traditional point of entry
into Algeria
Traditional active area –
smuggle routes also used
by terrorists
University of Texas at Austin: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
experiences, the areas shown in Map 3 and 4 were indicated as areas
previously used to host mobile training camps, as well as areas of concern
used as smuggle routes. In this regard security officials in the region made the
observation that due to a growing overlap it becomes increasingly difficult to
distinguish between smuggle and terrorist operations.
Border control in southern Algeria, despite being as difficult to monitor and
control as any other areas of the continent, is especially challenging because
of its remoteness and the established nomadic routes that have developed into
smuggling routes. Subsequently, the Algerian government established alliances
with the Tuareg, an unlikely parter. These will be discussed in Chapter 6.
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Map 4: Areas of concern in Niger
Area of growing concern / activity
Traditional active area - smuggle routes
also used by terrorists
University of Texas at Austin: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Yet, despite the name change and the perception it created in the formation
of a regional organisation, it would be a mistake to consider GSPC/AQLIM to
be a single central organisation. Instead, cross-organisational cooperation is
ideological and not operational.
Terrorism support networks
Networks include structures to provide assistance in the form of documentation,
firearms and safe havens. Support networks involving members of the same
family and friends are common, and are especially difficult to monitor and
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
infiltrate. Despite this, however, members of the security forces announced
in December 2006 that it had successfully dismantled a terrorism support
network of 28 individuals. The focus of the operation was a house in the
Boudghane district of Tlemcen. All the occupants belonged to the same
family. They included, as leader, the widow of a terrorist who had lived in
the Sidi Zouaoui district in Ouled Mioune. After her arrest, she incriminated
other people belonging to the same network who were active in the El-Gor
municipality, 60 km from Tlemcen. The investigation revealed that four of the
28 people were directly linked to terrorist activities and eight were involved in
facilitating GSPC/AQLIM movements, while the other 16 provided logistical
support for the group. Five members of this dismantled group had previously
been found guilty of activities relating to terrorism (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2006b).
It should be noted that although most of the attacks during 2007 were
concentrated in the east of the country, support and weapons networks were
located in the west and south of the country. This was an arrangement that
had been well established during the long period of conflict in Algeria. In
addition to the above-mentioned example, Algerian authorities broke up a
weapons trafficking network in Maghnia in March 2007. Five of the arrested
suspects had been active between Beni-rar in Morocco and Maghnia in
Algeria. The security forces seized 480 detonators, 480 m of fuse, 108 antipersonnel mines and a Renault car. According to the security forces, the
explosives had been purchased in France before being transported to Algeria
via Spain and Morocco (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aw).
In the south of the country, seven GSPC members aged between 19 and 46,
under the leadership of G Merabet, were arrested in August 2007 in Bechar
Djedid, 700 km southwest of Algiers (close to the Moroccan border). It is
important to note that after their ideological training recruits were given the
option to go to Iraq or to continue with operations in Algeria (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007ax).
Also in 2007, members of the security forces dismantled a number of
logistical support networks in the east of the country, in places such as Blida,
Jijel, Skikda and Bourmedes. For example, on 14 February 2007, Algerian
security forces arrested 32 people as part of a terrorism support network
in the Moulay-Laarbi region in Saida province (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007aw). The next month, they arrested seven suspects involved in a
weapons trafficking network between M’sila and Bordj Bou-Arreridj. During
this operation, 200 kg of ammonium nitrate as well as arms and ammunition
were confiscated. Although links with Iraq and Europe will be discussed later,
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it is important to note that support networks are also used for recruitment. In
December 2006 five members of a network recruiting terrorists for Iraq were
arrested and jailed in El-Oued for ‘membership of an armed organisation
acting on behalf of foreigners’. This network, which was affiliated to the
GSPC, recruited seven Algerians between 20 and 35 years of age to fight in
Iraq. In January 2007 eight young people from the same region also left for
Iraq (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ax).
After the 21 September 2007 suicide attack, members of the Algerian security
forces dismantled a support cell in Lakhdaria and arrested seven people,
including a pharmacist who provided pharmaceutical supplies to terrorists
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ba).
Notwithstanding the fact that most of the attacks were concentrated to the
east of the country, GSPC/AQLIM managed to target Algiers. In order to
achieve this, members of the group needed to have support closer to Algiers.
During 2007 members of security forces made a number of arrests around
Algiers. In March, for example, they arrested 19 members of a support
network in Blida. This group was alleged to have been in contact with a
group in Boumerdes that had been implicated in the car bomb attacks in Tizi
Ouzou. Included in the group were a 72-year-old man, the sister of a known
terrorist and suspects from Algiers, Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes identified by
their initials: MS (41), AC (24), HD (37) and HD (28) from Boumerdes; RM
(32) and RS (26) from Algiers; MA (26) from Tizi Ouzou, and KA (45) from
Les Issers (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bb). The involvement of former
repentants in terrorist operations during 2007 will be discussed in Chapter 6.
While support networks typically include individuals of the same nationality
or – if a cross-border operation is involved – a second nationality, Algerian
police in February 2007 dismantled a weapons network in Constantine,
430 km from Algiers, whose membership included a French national, two
Tunisians and 24 Algerians. Also in Constantine, police raided a safe house
on 11 February and seized 165 shotguns, 995 cartridges and 30 300. A
30-year-old Tunisian was suspected to be the network’s financier, while a
French national, Alain-Roger Raphael, was believed to have smuggled the
arms from the eastern port of Skikda in a camper van. Police believed that a
second French national, who was still at large with another 13 members of
the network, had supplied the weapons (Reuters 2007f).
Although it is difficult to establish a relationship between support networks
and networks recruiting fighters for Iraq, a merge into another could be
expected for the following two reasons:
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
Established support networks could redirect their focus to recruitment for
Iraq as this cause is now more popular domestically than GSPC/AQLIM’s
own campaign
•
Recruitment networks use the war in Iraq to attract new recruits who
believe they will be sent to Iraq after basic training in Algeria but who
are in fact being absorbed into GSPC/AQLIM’s domestic campain. This
manoeuvre has led to a number of desertions
Reaction and survival of al-Qa’eda in the Islamic Maghreb movement
The GIA and the GSPC were faced with similar realities and challenges,
particularly the decision to adopt an unpopular modus operandi. While the
GIA indiscriminately targeted civilians in its campaign of mass killings, the new
GSPC/AQLIM merger included suicide operations – which are unacceptable to
the majority of Algerians – as part of its modus operandi.
These conflicts persuaded former fighters to make use of the reconciliation
process. Antagonised leaders who were excluded from the process, because
of their involvement in serious crimes (particularly murder), violently reacted
against its followers in an atmosphere of distrust. For example, Abdelmadjid
Broche, alias Abu Moukatil, an emir in Collo, Skikda, killed approximately
ten of his own members in August 2004 after suspecting them of planning
to surrender. There was an eventual realisation, however, that the GSPC
would have to reinvent itself in order to survive (BBC Monitoring Middle East,
2004h).
In addition to the practical considerations that led to the initial decision to
move closer to al-Qa’eda, a number of GSPC members felt ideologically
closer to al-Qa’eda. Despite this reality, the GSPC was visibly torn between
two factions: those who supported and adopted al-Qa’eda’s vision, strategy
and tactics and saw AQLIM’s role beyond Algeria; and the older generation
who supported the GSPC’s independence, despite lesser influences from
al-Qa’eda (past and present).
Since the death of Nabil Sahraoui, two emirs fought to control the GSPC –
Abdelmalik Droukdal, who was appointed to succeed Nabil Sahraoui, alias
Abu Mustapha Ibrahim, and Sadaoui Abdelhamid, alias Abu El Haitham (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2004f). Despite the decision to appoint Droukdel, he
had not been the main candidate to succeed Sahraoui. Members of the GSPC
expected Abdelhamid, commander of the second sector, or Ahmed Abu
el-Para, the group’s judicial and Shari’a officer, to be chosen (BBC Monitoring
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Middle East 2007bc). This may have prompted Droukdel to adopt an
autocratic leadership style and to replace established leaders with individuals
whom he considered to be loyal. This step, however, contributed to further
friction and loss of morale. As a result, former leaders seriously reconsidered
the Algerian government’s reconciliation plan.
The more dramatic surrenders during 2007 included:
•
Said Ameur, alias Abu Bilal El Albani, a former emir of Zone 2
•
Abdelkader Benmessaoud, alias Mossaab Abu Daoud, a former emir of
Zone 9 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bd)
•
Hassan Hattab, the founder of the GSPC, who in fear for his life
surrendered on 22 September 2007 (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007be)
A well-founded fear since former members who had been killed included:
•
Abdelkarim Kadouri, killed in Al-Wadi city
•
Ali Boumhala, killed in Boumerdes in 2006
•
Imam Abu Hafs, killed in an eastern suburb of Algiers in 2002 (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007bf)
In restructuring GSPC/AQLIM in an attempt to get rid of leaders who did not
agree with his tactics and decisions, Droukdel:
•
Replaced the emir of Zone 9, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Abu El-Abbes
Khalid, alias Belaouar, with Yahia Djouadi, alias Abu Omar Abd al-Birr,
the former head of the group’s information committee. Despite Mokhtar’s
close relationships with the Tuareg (the source of GSPC/AQLIM’s
financial resources and logistics), Mokhtar, who was a close friend of
Hassan Hattab, fearing that he would be liquidated by the new leader,
was reportedly contemplating retreating into Mali (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007bd)
•
Replaced the emir of Zone 2, Abdelhamid Saadaoui, alias Yahia Abu
Haythem, with Harek Zoheir, alias Sofiane El-Fassila, the former emir of
El-Ansar Katibat. Saadaoui was ousted on suspicion of embezzling funds,
but many thought the real reason was that he had rejected Droukdel’s
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decision to join al-Qa’eda. Zoheir (32) had gone into the bush in 1994 and
was believed to have been behind attacks in Reghaia, Dergana, Boumerdes,
Tizi Ouzou and Algiers (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bg)
Another former ally of the GSPC, the HDS, based in western Algeria,
divorced itself from the movement after the GSPC’s alignment with al-Qa’eda
(Chikhi 2007).
During 2007 Droukdel also lost a number of key figures as a result of
operations executed by security forces. These included:
•
Sami Sayoud, second-in-command of the GSPC, who was killed in Si
Mustapha in May (Meftahi 2007a)
•
Emir Djelloul of El-Ansar Katibat, who was killed in Benchoud a few days
after Sayoud (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bh)
•
Ali Abu Dahdah, alias Ali Dix, second-in-command of Zone 2 and
Droukdel’s military adviser, who was killed with two bodyguards in July
in an ambush in the hills above the town of Amizour, close to Bejaia, 230
km east of Algiers. Dahdah had been the right-hand man of Sadaoui and
had also been described as the brain behind the 11 April attack (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007bi). Killed in the same ambush was Nour
Mohamed, alias Haroun El Achaachi. Originally from Zone 9, Mohamed
had acted as liaison in the smuggling of arms from the south (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007bk)
•
Zoheir, whom Droukdel had appointed as emir of Zone 2, who was
killed on 6 October 2007 in Boghni, Tizi Ouzou, 90 km east of Algiers,
with Hamzaoui Abdelhamid, alias Abu Tourab, alias Abdelhamid Emir,
the emir of the El-Farouk Katibat, and Osama Abu Ishak, alias Rabah. All
three were linked to the suicide attacks in April 2007 (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007bj)
•
Aissa Boussenna, alias Emir Serraka, from the El-Ansar Katibat in Sahel
Bouberek, who was killed in a military operation near Sidi Daoud in
Boumerdes in September 2007. Boussenna had allegedly been the
mastermind behind the attack on the coastguard barracks in Dellys earlier
in the same month (Dow Jones International News 2007e; AP 2007c)
•
Djamel Khaled El-Kebir, alias Emir Farouk, a military adviser to Djound
El-Ahoual, who was killed on 1 October 2007. According to security
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79
sources, El-Kebir had been in Ouled Salah, Thenia, to coordinate suicide
operations in the Boumerdes area (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bl)
•
Touikar Sadek, one of the emirs of GSPC/AQLIM, who was killed in
October 2007 in the village of Douar, on the border between Zaitouna
and Beni Yazid municipalities, Skikda Province (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007bm)
•
Djemai Boualem, alias Houdaifa, was killed in November 2007 on the
Adekar road linking Akfadou and El Kseur, Bejaia Province. Boualem
was described as a liaison officer between the GSPC command and the
El-Ansar Katibat, which played an important role in providing logistics,
including funds and weapons (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bn)
•
Ali Ferdji from Kadiria and Aissa Necham from El-Mokrani, who were
killed in August in the El-Mokrani forest in Souk El-Khemis. Both were
former members of the GIA who went to the maquis (forest) in 1996
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bo)
•
Chaib Khemissi (36), alias El-Atrous, the emir of El-Feth El-Moubine
near Tebessa, who was killed in December with five other terrorists
in Berzguene, El-Ma Labiod municipality, 35 km from Tebessa, after
security forces received a tip-off from members of the public. The group
had been on their way to a logistical support network in Tebessa (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007bp)
In addition to the elimination and arrest of key GSPC/AQLIM members, the
security forces had a few additional successes, including the discovery of
bomb-making laboratories. For example, on 8 October 2007 two bombmaking laboratories were discovered in Boumerdes (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007bq):
•
The first laboratory was located in a blockhouse in the heights of CapDjinet near Dellys, 90 km east of Algiers. It contained chemical fertiliser,
ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride.
Approximately 20 ready-to-use explosive devices and other explosives
being prepared were seized. The security forces also seized mobile
phones, cables, tools, other chemicals and large storage vats used to mix
chemicals
•
The second laboratory was discovered in the jungle of Bouchakour,
south of Les Issers. It contained ammoniac packed in bags, several home-
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made bombs and other equipment used in the manufacture of bombs,
including sheet metal, nails and scrap iron
The laboratories were believed to have supplied several armed groups from
Zone 2, including the El-Ansar and El-Arkam Katibats, which were behind
suicide bomber attacks in Algiers, Lakhdaria, and Dellys and other attacks on
police stations and gendarmerie headquarters.
In addition to these setbacks, Mustapha Dadou, alias Zaid, the GSPC
treasurer, was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2007. Dadou, a native
of Sidi Daoud in Boumerdes Province, was part of the Tarik Ibn Ziad Katibat,
directly under Emir Soheib, who was killed in April 2007 in Mardj Ouamane
on the outskirts of Amizour, in Bejaia. According to security sources,
Dadou had been in the FIS from 1994 before joining the GSPC. Based on
information received during interrogation, security forces broke up a bombmanufacturing cell in Boukhiarna village close to Bejaia. Dadou himself
was responsible for setting up three storage depots containing more than
300 containers filled with bomb-making materials. This supply dump was
discovered in September 2006. Over a four-year period, more that 12 million
dinars (US$179 000) was extorted from businesses around the area as well
as from ransom money collected after kidnappings (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007br).
There has clearly been a split in leadership over the inclusion of indiscriminate
tactics, particularly the use of suicide bombings. As had happened in earlier
organisations, the older generation in particular began to rethink whether it
was worthwhile to continue, particularly as a result of public outrage. There
was a feeling that without support in the form of safe havens and finance, the
organisation would find it increasingly difficult to function.
Ultimately individuals such as Brahim Boufarik, alias Abu El Para, surrendered
after the 11 April 2007 attacks in protest against the killing of civilians. He
and others were offered amnesty from prosecution. He made the following
statement: ‘Several muftis inside our organisation are against using suicide
bombings because they hit civilians. It appears that there is no difference
between Droudkel’s approach and the GIA approach.’
Religious scholars questioned GSPC/AQLIM’s new tactics based on the
Shari’a as not being just. They included Sheikh Abdenasser, a former member
of the GSPC’s Shura Council, Ahmed Jabri, also a member of the Shura
Council, and Abu Abbas, the Shari’a councillor in Zone 2 (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007bs).
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In an open letter to President Bouteflika, GSPC founder Hassan Hattab
described Droudkel’s group as ‘a small group that wants to transform Algeria
into a second Iraq’. To the old guard, including Hattab, ‘Algeria is composed
of three factions: rebels, officials including security forces and the people.
The first two groups are the combatants, while the third, or the civilian
population, must in no circumstances be targeted. However, Droudkel’s
group allows one Muslim to declare another Muslim an apostate, or nonbeliever [takfir], and then kill him.’ According to this view, Algeria is divided
into just two factions: the rebels and everyone else, justifying indiscriminate
attacks (Chikhi 2007). This ideological shift is currently receiving renewed
attention, and a gradual change can be detected.
Following the loss of experienced GSPC members as a result of surrender,
arrest or elimination by security forces, GSPC/AQLIM is trying to attract both
foreign fighters and younger followers – between the ages of 16 and 20 – who
are often inexperienced but who are idealists who can be easily manipulated.
These new recruitment techniques have presented a new challenge to the
security forces, in that it is more difficult to implement proactive measures
against individuals with no previous records or who have not raised suspicion
and are therefore unknown to security forces.
However, in September 2007 the security forces broke up a training camp for
children in Thenia, Boumerdes. Of the 13 suspects arrested, ten, aged between
14 and 18, were still at high school. According to the security forces, the training
camp taught students how to use weapons and prepared them ideologically
for suicide operations. As an indication of the level of indoctrination ‘all of the
children had first names of Islamist leaders such as Abu Djellala, Abu Dahdah,
Abu Haytem, or Ezzarkaoui’. They were paid between 2 000 and 3 000 Algerian
dinars a week. On 23 September 2007, seven of these students appeared in a
Boumerdes court on a charge of being members of a terrorist group. They
received suspended three-year prison sentences (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007bt). Sixteen and 17 recruits respectively were found in similar camps
destroyed in El-Oued (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bu). Approximately 40
young people, aged between 17 and 22, were estimated to have joined GSPC/
AQLIM during October 2007 from Sakiat Sidi Youcef, especially the slum areas
of Ziadia and Emir Abdelkader. The recruits included members from the same
family. New recruits were particularly targeted at mosques (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007bv). In addition to the use of mosques, the internet proved
to be an extremely effective tool to reach and radicalise young people both in
Algeria and in the rest of the world. Many young people, even from poor socioeconomic conditions, frequent internet cafés where they have access to video
material, training manuals and terrorist messages.
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When he surrendered in August 2007, Zoheir Abzar provided additional
insight into the recruitment techniques and morale within the lower-ranking
members. He had been recruited in a mosque in Appreval, Kouba, an eastern
suburb in Algiers, and after receiving ideological indoctrination he was
moved to Tizi Ouzou. There he realised that the ideological teaching he had
received did not reflect the realities, and as a result he had an overwhelming
feeling of distrust. A similar account was given by Mohammed Majbour, the
sole survivor of an operation in the Meftah and Khemis El-Khechna regions.
Majbour surrendered during the operation and described the offensive as an
‘emergency exit’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bw).
According to Benmessaoud Abdelkader, even foreign fighters were considering
leaving GSPC/AQLIM after Droukdel’s decision to include suicide attacks. He
said that the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, where there was an occupation,
was different from that prevailing in Algeria ‘where there is no occupation’
(Reuters 2007g).
As a further indication of this inner conflict, a member of GSPC/AQLIM known
only as Abdeldjebbar and active in the al-Nur Katibat in Ain El Hammam,
expressed his discontent with Droukdel’s new tactics in a letter to the security
forces. He wrote that a number of leading members were now reconsidering
their involvement in the organisation (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bx).
In the aftermath of the September bombings, allegations were also made that
during an August meeting between members of GSPC/AQLIM in the Djarrah area,
on the border between Bouira and Tizi Ouzou, Droukdel had been replaced by
Ahmad Haroun. This information could not be verified and might have been an
attempt to divide and demoralise the remaining members of an organisation that
had lost tremendous support (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007by).
An indication that the group may have been losing support was provided
by a tip-off from members of the public that led to the arrest of Bouderbala
Fateh, alias Abdelfatah Abu Bassir, in November 2007 with two accomplices
known as Mohamed K and Fares K. In this operation, the security forces
recovered 800 kg of explosives, three bombs and 20 detonators. Fateh, who
had joined the terrorist group 14 years previously, was a former head of the
GSPC/AQLIM foreign affairs committee, with direct contact to Droukdel. A
member of the Lakhdaria group, Fateh had replaced Said Ameur, alias Abu
Bilal El Albani, who had surrendered to the security services. After he joined
the central command, Fateh had been replaced as the head of the foreign
affairs committee by Sadaoui Abdelhamid, alias Abu el-Haithem Yahia, the
former emir of Zone 2 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bz).
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Conclusion
The Algerian case presented an unfortunate case study on the progressive
escalation of violence under favourable conditions. It also serves as an
example of the difficult challenges in restoring order in dire circumstances.
Although the promotion of democratic principles should be encouraged
as part of a counter radicalisation strategy, how to protect it from being
manipulated for ulterior motives is a challenge that confronted not only
Algeria in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It presented a catch-22 situation:
reacting to the pitfalls provides justification, while not reacting could present
more severe challenges to human security in the future.
Equally the history of extremist groups in Algeria might suggest that GSPC/
AQLIM is going full circle. The following indications might be noted:
•
Target selection – indiscriminate attacks. Although the GSPC had
distanced itself from the GIA policy of killing civilians indiscriminately,
its adoption of suicide bombing tactics defeated the former moral high
ground
•
Target selection – foreigners. Originally, the GSPC had focused its attention
exclusively on the security forces and government representatives, with
attacks on foreigners never being part of its programme. However, its
alignment with al-Qa’eda led to the inevitability of attacks on foreigners
•
Whereas Hassan Hattab and a number of other GSPC leaders defended
the organisation’s independence from foreign influence when al-Qa’eda
showed official interest in the GSPC after its delegate for North Africa,
Yemeni Emad Abdelwahid Ahmed Alwan, had visited Algeria before
being killed in 2002, Droukdel, on the contrary, was accused of being an
authoritarian leader and willing to sacrifice the GSPC’s independence
Although GSPC/AQLIM no longer poses a threat to the Algerian government,
it still poses a real threat to the overall security of the country, including
its foreign economic interests, the region and beyond. Attacks directed at
foreign companies have increased the possibility of future threats against the
country’s energy sector. In the light of the current plan to construct a transSahara pipeline from Nigeria to Europe, this possibility remains of particular
concern.
CHAPTER 3
TERRORISM IN MOROCCO
The French protectorate in Morocco came to an end in 1956. Differently from
the Algerian experience, independence was not achieved as a result of a bloody
liberation struggle. The ulemas, who supported Mohammed V, recognised the
Islamic legitimacy of the king. Under his son, Hassan II arrogated to himself
all authority to speak for Islam, claiming direct descent from the Prophet and
adopting the title of Commander of the Faithful (amir al mouminine), by which
he made his very person sacred. As such, he received the act of allegiance
(bay’at) of the ulemas, of the descendants of the Prophet, and of the other
members of the dynasty; but this allegiance had no contractual dimension
(Kepel 2003:54-55).
While Algeria was confronted with a political legitimacy crisis as well as poor
socio-economic conditions, Morocco’s Achilles heel was predominantly
socio-economic. Although Morocco’s religious as well as secular authority is
seldom questioned, Morocco still suffers from the same social and economic
problems that drive political dissent in other Arab states.
As in the case of Algeria and Tunisia, a number of small Islamist organisations
had been active from the 1960s and 1970s, especially on university campuses.
These included al-Islamiya (the Islamic Association), al-Adl wal Tanmiya (the
Justice Organisation) and al-Adl wal Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality). Fuelling
these organisations were the following circumstances:
•
Deteriorating social and economic circumstances led to the 1965
Casablanca riots, which were comparable with the Algerian bread riots of
more than 20 years later. Growing urbanisation contributed to increasing
unemployment, and a shortage of housing led to the burgeoning of
shantytowns, a source of future radicalisation and acts of terrorism. King
Hassan II reacted by suspending the constitution, disbanding parliament
and limiting the influence of political parties
•
The political vulnerability of King Hassan manifested itself in two coup
attempts, in 1971 and 1972. In 1974 the king reasserted Morocco’s
historic claim to the Western Sahara as a way of mobilising society as a
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
whole to defend Morocco’s territorial integrity. The monarchy became a
symbol of the nation, with most organisations subsequently accepting the
legitimacy of the monarchy
•
However, under the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, 20 underground
organisations had come into being by 1986 in Rabat alone, each with its
own structure, leadership and ideology (Shahin 1997:172)
As provided by Article 2 of Dahir No 1-58-376 of 15 November 1958,
regulating the right of association, as amended by Dahir No 1-02-206 of 24
July 2002, ‘any association pursuing a cause or an objective which is illicit or
contrary to the law and morality or which aims at undermining the Islamic
religion, territorial integrity or the monarchy or at inciting discrimination
shall be void’ (UN Security Council 2006:5). Within these boundaries, the
activities of groups and associations are usually tolerated.
Although the above three basic principles provide a framework for religious
organisations and associations, international developments – such as the
Iranian revolution and other developments discussed in the chapter on
Algeria – led to a change in the perception of the Moroccan government.
Subsequently, these structures were closely monitored, explaining mass arrest
campaigns and closer monitoring of activities at mosques.
While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss all the groups active in
Morocco, brief reference will be made to the following organisations:
•
Jam’yya al-Ba’th al-Islami or the Association of Islamic Resurrection.
Founded by Islail al-Khatib in Tetouan, the association aimed to create
an awareness that Islam was the only solution. Considered as a Salafi
organisation influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Association of
Islamic Resurrection did not challenge the legitimacy of the monarchy.
Although critical of its non-Islamic features, it opted to work within the
monarchy (Shahin 1997:174-175).
•
Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin or the Muslim Brotherhood in Morocco. Although
a number of groups exist that were influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt, a similar organisation came into existence in Morocco. Based in
Casablanca, the Muslim Brotherhood formed a number of cells in other
cities. Establishing an Islamic state through legal channels was also the
Muslim Brotherhood’s main objective. However, its challenge to the official
religious establishment, its claim that the monarchy was un-Islamic and its
view that political parties were not acting in the best interests of the Muslim
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community set it on a collision course with the establishment. Unlike the
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood remained covert
and did not openly attract support. In addition to a lack of growth, internal
differences detrimentally affected the Muslim Brotherhood’s effectiveness
and sustainability (Shahin 1997:178-179).
•
Al-Shabiba or the Moroccan Youth Association. Founded by Abdel Karim
Mouti in 1969, this was another covert organisation aimed at achieving
reform through an Islamic revolution. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
also influenced it, particularly the ideas of Sayyid Qutb. As a clandestine
organisation, the association was structured in cells, some of them based
in universities, secondary schools and mosques. In addition to its covert
cell structures, al-Shabiba initiated an overt structure and agenda. In
presenting al-Shabiba as an apolitical religious association advocating the
preservation of Islamic values through non-violent means, Mouti attempted
to divert growing government suspicion and to attract public support.
Following the lead of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Shabiba began
providing basic services, such as public health and adult education in
addressing illiteracy. However, the arrest of the association’s key leaders
was effective in dismantling the organisational structure. Al-Shabiba’s
decision not to support King Hassan in the Green March in 1975 led to
its banning in 1975. The Moroccan government accused al-Shabiba of
having assassinated Omar Bin Jelloun, the leader of the General Union of
Moroccan Workers. Security forces subsequently prosecuted 71 al-Shabiba
members for ‘forming an association of criminals, plotting the overthrow
of King Hassan, creating an Islamic republic, distributing Iranian-style
literature and belonging to the banned Islamic Youth Association’. Mouti
was put on trial in absentia, but escaped to Saudi Arabia (living allegedly
currently in Libya). Al-Shabiba split into a number of smaller organisations,
including the Revolutionary Commission, the Islamic Students Vanguard
and the Islamic Group and the Movement of the Mujahideen. In October
1985, 30 members of the Mujahideen were tried in Marrakesh on charges
of attempting to overthrow the government. They received sentences
ranging from one year to life (Shahin 1997:184-188).
•
Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya or the Islamic Group. This was one of al-Shabiba
splinter groups. Previously known as the Rabat group, the split took place
under the leadership of Abd al-Ilah Benkiran in 1981. Shahin (1997:189)
summarised the objectives of this religious organisation as ‘renewing the
understanding of religion, calling for the respect of individual rights and
public freedom, advocating the implementation of the Shari’a, improving
the material and living conditions of Muslims, performing charitable work,
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
achieving comprehensive cultural renaissance, working to accomplish
Muslim unity and condemning violence’. In 1992 al-Gama’a changed its
name to Harakat al-Islah wa al-Tajdid al-Maghribyya, or the Moroccan
Movement for Reform and Renewal (HATM), in an attempt to prevent
misperceptions of the aims and objectives of the organisation. HATM
participated in the political process after forming a partnership with the
Constitutional Popular Movement, an established political party.
•
Al-Adl wal Ihasne. This organisation was founded by Abdesslam Yassin
in 1979 as an offshoot of al-Gama’a. In placing al-Adl wal Ihasne on a
collision course with the monarch, Yassin claimed that he was a member
of the sharifian family and, like King Hassan, a descendant of the Prophet
Muhammad. Although, from the time of its formation, al-Adl wal Ihasne
differed from the other organisations referred to in this discussion in
having an extremist undertone, it was not implicated in any acts of
violence. Its recruitment policy targeted university and high school
students, civil servants, teachers and ordinary workers in the larger
cities. The organisation was banned in 1985 (Shahin 1997:193-195). As
a result, one of Morocco’s largest opposition groups was excluded from
the political process on the grounds that it wanted to limit the king’s
power. Al-Adl wal Ihasne also rejected the king’s role as Commander
of the Faithful (amir amoumine) (Ghanmi 2007). Following the lead of
the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Adl wal Ihasne promoted itself as a
party of the masses able to help improve social conditions.
In addition to the country’s political circumstances, Morocco’s high
unemployment, inadequate social services and rapidly growing population
have inevitably led many Moroccans to feel disenfranchised and dissatisfied.
Making matters worse is the question of illiteracy, a major social issue in a
country where nearly half the population of 30 million cannot read or write
(MEED Quarterly Report 2003).
Illiterate Moroccans, rather than educated Moroccans, have formed the
majority of those falling under the spell of the Wahhabi version of Islam
promoted by a number of wealthy private Saudi Arabians throughout North
Africa since the 1970s. Relying on books, cassettes and later DVDs for its
communication, Wahhabism presents a fanatical and puritanical view of Islam
that is more intolerant than traditional Moroccan Islamic teaching towards
Jews and women. Such preaching cannot be underestimated in a country
where the state has so evidently failed to educate all its citizens. Coupled
with the spread of extremist ideology within poor communities, cell structures
have also gradually spread to university campuses. Therefore targeting both
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educated and uneducated members of society. Morocco has a population of
mostly Sunni Muslims with small Christian and Jewish communities.
The reforms of recent years have not been accompanied by improved
employment opportunities or better living standards, with the result that many
Moroccans have become vulnerable to extremism. When King Mohammed
began to encourage the idea of greater rights for women, Islamic parties
resisted and Morocco remains in many ways a deeply conservative society.
History of terrorism in Morocco
As a smaller number of Afghan Mujahideen returned to Morocco, the
political environment was quite different from that in Algeria. As part of
King Hassan II’s rule with an iron fist, the smaller Islamist movements,
particularly the ones that were active at universities, were firmly controlled.
Two of these were the above-mentioned al-Adl wal Ihasne and al-Islamiya.
The second of these presented itself as having a conservative policy and
negotiated with the Moroccan government to participate in the political
process in the mid 1990s, leaving more militant activists to support al-Adl
wal Ihasne, some of whose fighters also participated in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Chechnya, Bosnia and Kosovo (MEED Quarterly Report 1999).
Although extremism could not really spread under the protection of
political freedom, the deteriorating situation in Algeria had a ripple effect
on neighbouring countries.
Alleged Algerian involvement in Morocco manifested itself on 24 August
1994 when gunmen shot dead two Spanish tourists – and injured a third as
well as a Moroccan woman – in the Atlas-Asni hotel in Marrakesh, before
making off with 10 000 dirhams (US$1 130) in cash (Reuters 1994). The
Moroccan authorities arrested two Algerian nationals, Redouane Hammadi
and Stephane Ait Idir, as well as two Moroccans for their involvement
in this attack. Before the attack, the four suspects were alleged to have
received radical training in France from Abdelilah Ziyad, a Moroccan college
teacher who had gone to Afghanistan in 1992 (Roy 2004:316). One of the
Moroccans arrested was Hamel Marzouk (28), who was originally from Oran
but who carried a French passport in the name of Abderrahmane Ouakka.
Marzouk acknowledged his involvement in the 1993 attacks on McDonalds
in Casablanca, a bank in Oujda and the Atlas-Asni hotel (Reuters 1994a).
He also claimed that after Ziad had instructed him to attack a Casablanca
synagogue he had instead decided to bomb a Jewish cemetery. Firearms
were also found in his possession (Reuters 1994b).
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
After Algerians had been implicated in this attack, Algerians were required to
obtain visas before entering Morocco. In retaliation, Algeria closed its border
with Morocco, further straining relations between the two countries (Hughes
1994). On 16 June 1994 a military court in Rabat convicted two Algerians for
gun-running. The two were arrested after they fired at a security roadblock in
Fez (Hughes 1994a). In April 1998 an armed Islamist group killed ten Moroccans
near the border town of Oujda (BBC Monitoring Middle East 1998).
In 1999 most of the Afghan veterans joined a splinter group of al-Adl wal
Ihasne, headed by Sheikh Mohammed al-Bachiri. This group was believed to
have been behind a number of smaller Islamist organisations, including one
known as ‘Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of Vice’, which was responsible
for stoning a man to death on 27 February 2002 (Daily Star 2002).
Casablanca bombings
Concern that Morocco had become the latest battleground in the war on
terrorism increased after synchronised suicide bombings in Casablanca
killed 44 and injured many more. The attacks were a disturbing reminder
of the strength of the underground Islamist movements in Morocco. They
were a serious setback to the efforts of King Mohammed VI to integrate
Islamist parties into mainstream politics. Prior to the Casablanca bombings,
Morocco’s own militant groups had not launched any significant attacks.
On 16 May 2003 five attacks, executed almost simultaneously throughout
the coastal city of Casablanca, left 45 people dead – including the 12 suicide
bombers – and 100 injured. Three Spaniards were killed and four Spaniards
were injured inside the Casa de Espana restaurant, while 20 others, including
a Spanish truck driver and two businessmen, died in the same blast, which
was set off by powerful explosives in coordinated attacks. Two other bombings
were at the Farah (Safir) hotel and the Israeli Alliance community centre, while
the remaining two targets were an old Jewish cemetery and a Jewish-owned
Italian restaurant next to the Belgian consulate (EFE News Service 2003).
The choice of targets suggested that the terrorists wanted to destroy symbols
of Morocco’s religious tolerance and modernity – restaurants where the
elite of different religions gathered, Jewish targets, and the hotel, which had
a popular nightclub. One might argue that the selection of targets – places
unacceptable to the principles of extreme Islamists – was in line with the
agenda of local extremists influenced by a transnational agenda and striving
to impose an Islamic state on Morocco.
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Except for the synchronised timing of the explosions, the Moroccan bombings
could be described as relatively unsophisticated. They were Morocco’s first
suicide attacks. The killing and injury of so many local citizens came as a
shock to ordinary Moroccans who, unlike Algerians, were not accustomed to
acts of violence and terrorism. In the case of the Jewish cemetery, the blast
apparently detonated prematurely, killing three squatters who were standing
near a communal water spring outside the graveyard walls. Although a number
of organisations were suspected of being implicated in the bombings, it
became clear that the radical nature of the attacks had been influenced by the
poor socio-economic conditions of Sidi Moumen and that the actual bombings
had been carried out by a cell of people who knew one another. Most of those
who were directly involved in the attack were killed in the operation.
Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain or the
Moroccan Islamic Combat Group
In the aftermath of the Casablanca bombings, the security forces focused
their attention on the Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain, or the
Moroccan Islamic Combat Group (GICM). The GICM was established in
the late 1990s by Moroccans who had fought the former Soviet Union in
Afghanistan (following a similar trend as the other countries under review).
It was believed that the initial role of the GICM was to provide logistical
support to al-Qa’eda operatives when they passed through Morocco. When
the Moroccan government began to cooperate with the US on securityrelated issues after 9/11, the GICM decided to rethink its initial role (AFP
2004). The GICM was headed by Abdelkrim Thami Mejjati until he was
killed in a shoot-out with security forces in Saudi Arabia in 2005.
Saad Houssaini, who was believed by the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior
to be the head of the GICM’s military wing, was arrested in March 2007.
He had previously travelled to Afghanistan in 1997 and was implicated
in the Casablanca attacks (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ca). Prior to
his latest arrest, he had been arrested on the Iraq-Syria border in 2006
and handed over to Morocco. He had also been implicated in a suicide
attack on 11 March 2007, just before he was arrested in Morocco (Dow
Jones International News 2007f). According to Moroccan security forces,
Houssaini, the son of a university professor, studied chemistry in college
and won a Moroccan government scholarship to the University of Valencia
in Spain. Before completing his studies, he had moved to Afghanistan,
where he received paramilitary training. Before leaving for Afghanistan,
Houssaini was arrested by Spanish police for being in possession of false
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travel documents and manuals on how to manufacture explosives. In Spain
he had received radical training by an unnamed Tunisian (Whitlock 2007).
In 2002 Houssaini returned to Morocco from Afghanistan and began
reactivating GICM cells. The military committee was tasked with setting up
camps in the Rif and Atlas mountains to train new recruits and to shelter
members of groups to be located at bases to be used for bomb-making. After
the Casablanca bombings in 2003, Houssaini worked on the establishment
of a network to recruit Moroccan fighters for Iraq. According to the security
forces, he had sent 18 recruits to Iraq using funds he obtained from the
GICM (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cb).
Hassan M, an associate of Houssaini, was arrested in Syria and deported to
Morocco in 2006. He had previously lived in Spain, Turkey and Syria, and
from Syria he had tried to enter Iraq. Houssaini’s name was mentioned in
police reports on a terrorist group whose members included Taieb Bentisi
and Salaheddine Benyaiche, both accused of being members of the GICM.
Abdelaziz Benzine, another Moroccan who had been trained in Afghanistan
and who was described as a co-conspirator in the 2003 Casablanca
bombings, serving alongside Houssaini, was arrested on the same day as the
11 March bombings (Whitlock 2007).
For his role alongside Houssaini in the GICM recruitment networks for Iraq,
Abdelaziz Habbouch, alias Tarek, was arrested by Moroccan authorities on
28 May 2007. Described as one of the prominent members of the GICM who
had received training in Afghanistan, Habbouch was also implicated in the
2003 Casablanca bombings. During his interrogation, Habbouch provided
a list of Moroccans who had left for Iraq. One of these was Abderrahman,
who had been captured by US forces in Baghdad. According to Habbouch,
most of the recruits had come from Casablanca, Tetouan and Ouezzan.
Habbouch also confirmed that Benzine had given money to the families
of those who had left for Iraq. He also referred to Zayd, who had been the
recruitment coordinator in Syria (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cc). Zayd
could be Izzeddine Nawayili, whose aliases were Abu Souhayb and Abu
Zayd. Nawayili facilitated the attempted infiltration into Iraq of Ben Mousa
in August 2005 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005c). The interrogation of
Houssaini confirmed that Zayd was the contact person in Syria who would
greet volunteers in Damascus and arrange their passage across the border
into Iraq (Whitlock 2007).
On an international level, authorities in a number of European countries
arrested suspected members of the GICM who had been linked to
transnational acts of terrorism (see also Chapter 5). For example, on 19
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December 2004 Spanish authorities arrested Hassan El Haski in the Canary
Islands for his alleged links with the Madrid bombings. He was also believed
to have been the person behind the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo
Van Gogh in Amsterdam (AFP 2004a).
On 29 August 2005, Belgian authorities in turn announced the arrest of 18
men suspected of belonging to the GICM. They included Khalid Bouloudo,
Abdelkader Hakimi and Mourad Chabarou – all suspected of having links
with those responsible for the May 2003 Casablanca attacks and the March
2004 train bombings in Madrid (AFP 2005a). In France eight people were
convicted in July 2007 on a charge of providing logistical and financial
support to the 2003 Casablanca suicide bombers. One of those convicted
was Mustapha Baouchi, who was a contact of Noureddine Nafia, a member
of the GICM who is serving a 20-year sentence in Morocco for the attacks
(Von Derschau 2007). The GICM was influenced by extreme Islamic
teachers, including Abu Qatada, the radical preacher whom the UK seeks to
expel (Dow Jones International News 2005).
Salafia Jihadia or the Jihad for Pure Islam
Salafia Jihadia or the Jihad for Pure Islam was established in 1992 by
Mohamed Fisazi to oppose Arab states, including Morocco and Saudi
Arabia, which joined the US-led coalition against Iraqi in 1991 (Bouzerda
2002). Salafia Jihadia is a loose umbrella organisation made up of a cluster of
independent cells.
One of Salafia Jihadia’s predecessor groups, headed by Ahmed Raffiki, was
active in the 1980s and 1990s in the recruitment of Moroccan fighters for
Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia and Kosovo (BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2003).
Raffiki’s successor, Abu Hafs, a follower of the philosophy of Osama bin
Laden, is currently in custody.
On 28 March 2005 Moroccan security forces announced that they had
dismantled a Salafia Jihadia network operating in various Moroccan towns,
including Mohammadia, 20 km from Casablanca (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2005d). Salafia Jihadia’s links with the GSPC in Algeria and with the
conflict in Iraq will be discussed in a later chapter.
A small Salafia Jihadia splinter group, as-Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Good and
Righteous Path) was described as ‘fuelled by a hatred of Western values’
(Richburg 2003). Its leader, Youssef Fikri, who was sentenced to death for
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premeditated murder and who had been wanted since 2002, had been
serving a prison sentence for drug smuggling under a false identity (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2006c). Other as-Sirat al-Mustaqim members
sentenced in December 2006 by a court in Sale, Morocco, were (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007cd):
•
Youssef Addad and Abdelmalek Bouisakarne – each sentenced to death
for ‘premeditated murder, deliberately endangering people’s lives and
their safety, forming a criminal gang to plan and carry out terrorist
activities, forging money, theft, expropriation of money, possession of
explosives, planning to endanger public order by means of violence and
praising acts which form terrorist crimes’
•
Mohamed Ait Bensaid – sentenced to 30 years in jail
•
Tarek Farssi, Ibrahim Hamdi, Hassan Mendaoui and Mohamed Achdad
– each sentenced to 15 years in jail
On 27 October 2007, Moroccan security forces arrested three suspected
Salafia Jihadia members in Oujda near the Algerian-Moroccan border. One
of the suspects was wanted in connection with the suicide bombings in
Casablanca, one was a former soldier who had visited Afghanistan and the
third was a 14-year-old (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ce). Following
these arrests, Oujda became a centre of police operations, with checkpoints
being set up close to the town.
On 8 November 2007 Morocco opened a trial of 51 individuals, predominantly
associated with Salafia Jihadia, suspected of involvement in the Casablanca
suicide bombings. Members of this group had been arrested in Casablanca,
El Gara, Sale, Kenitra and Agadir and included a woman identified as Hasna
Moustaid (Dow Jones International News 2007g). Moroccan security sources
reported that a group of al-Qa’eda recruiting agents had been operating in
Zouerate, Mauritania, since December 2005 (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2006i).
Al-Takfir wal Hijra is another small extremist group believed to be linked
to as-Sirat al-Mustaqim and Salafia Jihadia. Its leader, Zakaria Miludi, was
believed to have been inspired by Mustafa Choukri, who set up a group
with the same name in 1974 (Bouzerda 2002). Moroccan justice minister
Mohamed Bouzoubaa claimed that the group had ties with foreign networks
in Egypt and Afghanistan, including al-Qa’eda. The group first attracted
attention when its members stoned Fuad Kardudi to death in February 2002
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for drinking alcohol. Subsequently ten of its members were each sentenced
to 20 years in jail for the crime. Although not an act of terrorism, these and
other activities signalled a move from fundamentalism to extremism. On 15
December 2004 Moroccan police arrested six unidentified men between
the ages of 23 and 48 at Layayda, near Rabat, on suspicion of membership
of al-Takfir wal Hijra and charged them with holding subversive meetings,
threatening people and using violence. Handwritten documents and religious
books, some of them inciting violence, were seized at the time of the arrests
(AFP 2004b).
Fitting more into the al-Qa’eda framework was a plot to attack Western
shipping in the Straits of Gibraltar with a speedboat manned by suicide
bombers. This plot was uncovered a year before the Casablanca bombings
and led to the arrest of 30 people in May and June 2002. They included
three Saudis and seven Moroccans believed to have links with as-Sirat
al-Mustaqim, Salafia Jihadia and Takfir wal Hijra. One of the Saudis was
Abu Zubair al-Hailal Mohamed al-Tbaiti, alias the Bear, who had served as
a military commander in Afghanistan before joining the Arab Mujahideen
in Bosnia as an artillery expert. While based in London, Zubair had been a
recruiter for al-Qa’eda (Kohlmann 2004:29). The two other Saudis were Hilal
Jaber Aouad al-Assiri and Abdullah M’Sfer Ali al-Ghamdi (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007cd). A number of those arrested had been in Afghanistan,
fuelling speculation that Osama bin Laden’s al-Qa’eda network was involved
in some way (Bouzerda 2002).
Terrorist cells in Morocco
Cell structures
The basic unit of an underground organisation is the cell. Usually the
size of the cell depends on its function as well as the perceived threat
from opposing forces. It is therefore to be expected that the cell will
become smaller in order to reduce infiltration. Compartmentalisation
of the cell is also a common strategy to protect the cell and the
larger organisation. Compartmentalisation also implies that information
is restricted relating to the planned operation, but also personal
information, including the identity of cell members (referred to by
aliases). The degree of compartmentalisation broadly depends on the
size of the organisation, the level of support from the population and the
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
level of threat from opposing security forces. Particularly when ordinary
citizens support security forces, the broader underground organisation
and cell structures will become smaller and more defensive for fear of
surveillance and infiltration. In addition to cells with specific functions,
cells are also geographically organised with units in various parts of
the country operating autonomously. The geographical spread of cell
structures also reduces the vulnerability of the larger organisation.
When cells are centralised or concentrated in one area or section of the
population they can be more easily infiltrated, leading to a clamp-down
on the organisation. For security and capacity reasons, both of which
are necessary for the survival of an organisation, the underground
cells need to be diversified both geographically and across all levels of
society. Cells with specific functions include:
•
External command structures, which are predominantly responsible
for overall direction, propaganda, financial assistance (with
decentralisation, cell structures become more self sustainable) and
provide limited operational assistance
•
Support cells, which are predominantly responsible for identifying
potential members and conducting background checks on these
people or screening them before introducing them to existing
members. Front organisations could also serve in this capacity.
Because of their function, it is less important to compartmentalise
support cells than it is to compartmentalise operational cells
•
Operational cells are smaller (normally between three and eight
members). With the development of decentralised cell structures
driven by a common philosophy, operational cells became more
independent. Local autonomy exists within the cells responsible for
executing operations. Strategic assistance or guidance may come
from individual(s) representing the broader aims of the operation.
It is, however, essential to note that in addition to external roleplayers settling in a country (target country or country being used
as a safe haven) these individuals need some sort of local support.
The success of the operation will depend on the ability of its
members to blend in. This is because these cells know more about
local conditions and because they are in a better position to make
decisions relating to the implementation and timing of an operation.
Within operational cells tasks are also specific:
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Cells may be organised for a specific mission and be dissolved
after completion of that mission (to move on to a new mission).
Each member has specific responsibilities, for example, getting
access to supplies, intelligence on the target, counter intelligence
that focuses on security forces, constructing the device and
delivery of the device
Common and centralised training often unifies decentralised
units. This has particularly enhanced the role of training camps
in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Mali. Training to enhance cohesion
can also be considered ‘innocent’ through activities such as
camping, going to a firing range or play paintball
Compartmentalisation and decentralisation serve to protect
underground organisations and their cell structures against
infiltration and discovery. As a result, cell structures are becoming
increasingly independent, making it extremely difficult for security
forces to identify, infiltrate or penetrate cell structures
Since the Casablanca bombings, the Moroccan authorities sporadically
announced the dismantling of terrorism networks that threatened the country,
as well as networks which recruited individuals to participate as foreign
fighters in Iraq. It is important to acknowledge that the real threat of terrorism
in Morocco has come in the form of small cell structures and not from large
recognisable structures. Particularly when members of the cell are limited to
the same family or group of friends, these structures are extremely difficult
to monitor and eradicate. Although the destructive power might be less, due
to limited access to resources and organisational skills, smaller cell structures
can be equally destructive by creating a constant sense of insecurity and
fear.
In addition to the threat from small independent cell structures, their existence
serves another purpose, which is to measure public sentiment. In the absence
of, or limited access to, better structured organisations – often because of
government control over areas where people might meet – individuals who
are being individually radicalised will not have access to better structured
organisations, but they will form smaller independent cells which include
people they react with that have similar viewpoints and sentiments.
In other words, the fact that Morocco is not confronted with the same level of
instability is not an indication that individuals are not being radicalised. The
existence of cells is an indication that domestic and international frustration
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still exists. According to Judge Baltasar Garzon, one of Spain’s leading antiterrorism judges, Morocco is home to approximately 100 al-Qa’eda-linked
cells that pose an imminent threat to Europe: ‘Each cell has five to ten
members – so we are talking about 900 to 1 000 people.’ According to
testimony, the majority of members of the cells in northern Morocco speak
perfect Spanish and are able to slip easily in and out of Spain, a short distance
across the Strait of Gibraltar (Dow Jones International News 2004b).
In July 2004 the security forces dismantled an 11-member terrorist cell in
Agadir, southern Morocco, that was preparing to carry out acts of sabotage
against undisclosed targets. This new Agadir cell was exposed on the basis
of information gained from confessions by members of the Beni Mellal cell,
which the security forces had previously dismantled. Preliminary information
confirmed a link between the new Agadir cell and Ibrahim Hamdi, leader of
the Beni Mellal cell, as well as members of an earlier Agadir cell who had
been arrested in July 2003 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004g).
In June 2006 the security forces dismantled a group called Jamaa
al-Muslimoun al-Joudoud or the Group of New Muslims, which was believed
to be headed by Abu Issa, a UK resident. The trial of 42 alleged members
of this group continued into 2007. The defendants were from Sale, Rabat,
Casablanca, Berrechid, Oued Zem, Tangiers and Guelmime. The main
accused, Abdelmajid Kabli, was charged with ‘forming a criminal gang in
order to prepare for and carry out terrorist acts; working in a non-recognised
association; and organising public gatherings without authorisation’ (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007cf).
In one of the biggest coup attempts, the security forces arrested 317 suspected
members of the Ansar al-Mahdi group between August and December
2006. This group, which was established by Hassan el-Khattab, alias Abu
Osama, was charged with setting up training camps in the Rif mountains,
with several cells in Sale, Sidi Yehia El Gharb, Sidi Slimane, Al-Yousifiah and
Casablanca, with the aim of establshing an Islamic government in Morocco
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cg). Suspected targets included hotels,
foreign missions and vital facilities in various coastal towns frequently visited
by tourists (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006d). El-Khattab was believed to
have links with Salafia Jihadia, as well as with al-Qa’eda operatives in Europe
and the GSPC.
Similar to the GSPC in Algeria, Ansar al-Mahdi, which is under the overall
control of el-Khattab, is divided into northern, central, southern and eastern
sectors, sub-divided into cells with an emir at the head of each cell. In August
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2006 the second in command was Abu Jabir, the emir of the Casablanca
cell (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006e). El-Khattab was also believed to
have appointed El Ouerdini as the emir responsible for the group’s military
wing. Under El Ouerdini’s command, members of the group bought a piece
of land in the Nador forest where they built a house, which was used as the
headquarters of the military wing as well as a training base in preparation
for attacks. In addition to a military training ground, the premises included a
recording studio to be used in the production of propaganda material. The
group financed its operations by forging banknotes (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2006f). For additional finance, El-Khattab opened stores in Sale and
planned bank robberies (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006e).
After investigations and interrogation only some 50 of the original 317
suspects were prosecuted. They included the wives of two Moroccan Air
Force pilots, five soldiers, three paramilitary gendarmes and a policeman.
The alleged leader of the military wing, El Ouerdini, a former military officer,
denied all charges including the manufacturing of explosives and the forging
of banknotes and official documents (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ch).
Before the 2003 Casablanca attacks, fighters attached to the Rebaa cell in
Meknes attacked the military barracks in Guercif, stealing Kalashnikovs (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2006g). Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa noted in
early December 2006 that Ansar al-Mahdi had been one of seven terrorist
networks dismantled by the security forces. During these operations police
questioned 320 people and charged 44 (AFP 2006a).
Several members of the security forces had been implicated, and the
government initiated strategies to curb and limit radicalisation within the
security forces. In an attempt to deprive jihadists of weapons training,
compulsory military service was suspended (Black 2007a). In a strategy to
further limit the possible influence of extremists, the General Directorate
of Studies and Documentation (DGED), which is Morocco’s secret service,
arranged for religious scholars to visit military bases and barracks to instruct
military personnel on tolerant Islam. A control and monitoring programme
was also introduced, requiring soldiers to report anything suspicious to their
commanding officers. Reacting on the seriousness of the matter, the General
Directorate of the Royal Armed Forces asked for the dismissal of several army
troops and non-commissioned officers who had shown signs of exaggerated
religious behaviour (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ci).
Broadening the suspected reach of Ansar al-Mahdi, Libyan security forces
extradited two Moroccans, identified as Chami S and Aghlam A, who were
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suspected to be linked to the ongoing Ansar al-Mahdi case in July 2007, to
Morocco (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cj). In July 2007 a court in Sale
sentenced Rabi Ghanem, Rachid Souhali and Mohamed Koreaa to four years
in prison for ‘forming a criminal gang to plan and carry out terrorist acts as
part of a collective plan aimed at seriously damaging public order; holding
public meetings without prior permission; and belonging to an unauthorised
association’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ck).
During the same period, the Interior Ministry announced that security forces
had also dismantled Jama’at al-Tawhid wal Jihad fil Maghrib (Unification and
Jihad), a cell suspected to have links to the GSPC, as well as members of
the Hizb Attahrir al-Islam (Islamic Liberation Army). Members of the latter
party were arrested for distributing compact disks as well as the internet
addresses of jihadi organisations in poor areas in Casablanca, Agadir,
Mohammedia, Settat, El Jadida and Tangiers (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2006h). Subsequently, 14 of its members were sentenced on 8 December
2006. Abdelhamid Jaafar and two others received four-year sentences and
fines while the remaining 11 were sentenced to three years in jail (AFP
2006b).
In early February 2007, Moroccan security forces arrested an unknown
number of unidentified members of a group believed to have been planning to
target hotels and public places in Tangiers, including a Jewish neighbourhood
and a supermarket chain in Marjane. The authorities announced that large
quantities of firearms and explosives had been discovered in their possession
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cl).
In another case, a court in Sale convicted members of the Nador cell on 25
July 2007 for ‘forming a criminal gang to prepare for and carry out terrorist
acts; holding public gatherings without authorisation; and activities in a nonauthorised association’. Karim Mokhtari and Mohamed Oulichkihi received
sentences of three years’ imprisonment and Abdelkrim Bouchrou, Mohamed
Abet, Mohamed Askyou, Mohamed El Aasraoui and Mimoun El Kakiri
received two-year jail sentences (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cm).
Followed by a case involving nine members of the Mesahel cell, which was
implicated in an alleged plot to target the US Embassy in Rabat. A court
on 2 March 2007 convicted Mohamed Ben El Hadi Mesahel, a Tunisian
suspected of being the leader of the group, to 15 years’ imprisonment (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007cn). Mesahel was alleged to have acted as a
coordinator between Islamist groups in Algeria, Morocco and Libya. He was
also implicated in the recruitment of Moroccans to join the armed resistance
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in Iraq after taking them to Algeria with the assistance of illegal migration
networks. Mesahel was also alleged to have lived in Italy, where he acted as
coordinator between al-Qa’eda members in France, Italy and Syria planning
operations including the bombing of the Milan metro, targeting the French
intelligence headquarters in Paris and overseeing the operation of transporting
fighters to Iraq through Syria. In January 2006 Mesahel was believed to have
returned to Morocco and had contact with extremists in Casablanca and
Sale who intended to participate in the insurgency in Iraq (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007co).
Mesahel’s co-accused were sentenced as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abdelghani Aouiech, ten years’ imprisonment
Adelfettah El Hidaoui, eight years
Adelhak Touri, six years
Lahcen Mhader, six years
Adel Ghirar, six years
Adel Fares, four years
Mohamed Harmouch, two years (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cp)
The group was arrested in March 2006 after the arrest of Anour Majrar, who
told interrogators that he had visited GSPC leaders in Algeria with Mesahel
and Amir Laaraj, an Algerian. Prosecutors also charged Mesahel and Majrar
with being part of a terrorist network that was planning attacks on the Paris
metro, Orly airport and the headquarters of the French intelligence agency,
as well as Milan’s police headquarters and the Basilica of San Petronio in
Bologna (Smith 2007).
Ansar al-Islam
In addition to Moroccan organisations and small cell structures which have
external alliances, Ansar al-Islam, based in the Middle East and Europe,
was claimed to be spreading its influence to North Africa, and especially
Morocco. Founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Ansar al-Islam originally
concentrated its operations in Iraq. In 2007 it posted a communiqué on the
internet calling for the liberation of Al Andalus and the replacement of the
monarchy in Morocco with an Islamic government (Cembrero 2007). Linked
to Moroccan operations in Europe, particularly Spain (see also Chapter 5),
the threat to liberate Al Andalus is of considerable concern to Moroccan
authorities, particularly in Tetouan, close to Ceuta and Melilla. This topic will
be returned to later in this chapter.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Suicide attacks in 2007
The impact of smaller independent cells was again confirmed in an attack
on 11 March 2007 when Abdelfettah Raydi (23), a Moroccan, detonated his
explosive vest in an internet café in Casablanca, killing himself and wounding
three others. It appeared that the café was not Raydi’s intended target as he
detonated his device following a confrontation with the owner of the café
after he could not get access to a particular website. His accomplice, Youssef
Khouidri (26), dropped his suicide belt and ran away, but was later arrested
and taken to hospital. Prior to the attack Raydi had been sentenced to five
years’ imprisonment in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the Casablanca
attacks. He had, however, been pardoned in 2005. Both Raydi and Khouidri
were unemployed and came from Douar Skouila, a poor neighbourhood in
Casablanca. Raydi, the eldest of seven children, grew up without a father
(Abdennebi 2007). According to articles reporting this event, the two were
part of a group of five recruited in Hay Mohammedi, Casablanca. Other
intended targets were Casablanca’s police and paramilitary headquarters as
well as restaurants and hotels (Ghanmi, 2007).
As a result of investigations, a number of suspected terrorists died or were
killed in Casablanca during the course of 10 April. Mohamed Rachidi, alias
Salah or Mustapha, who was identified as the first suspect, blew himself up
in the early hours, while a second, Mohamed Mentala, alias Warda, was
shot dead before he could detonate his explosive vest. In a second incident
during the afternoon, an unnamed alleged terrorist barricaded himself into an
apartment and detonated an explosive device, killing himself and wounding
three policemen, one fatally, as well as a child. Rachidi and Mentala had also
been implicated in the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca (AFP 2007h). In a
third incident, five people were injured after a man had blown himself up in
an apartment. Later in the evening a fourth suspect detonated his explosives,
injuring five people including two policemen, as he blew himself up in the
main road of the Hay al Farah district (AFP 2007i). Among those who killed
themselves on this day was Ayyoub Raydi, the brother of Abdelfettah Raydi
(BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007a).
In the aftermath of the March and April attacks, Moroccan authorities
arrested a number of other suspects. For example, on 21 March authorities
announced that they had arrested 24 suspects, aged between 18 and 27
from Sidi Moumen, where one of the attacks had occurred, as well as
Tangiers, Tetouan, Ouezzane and Chefchaouen. Twelve of the suspects were
described as potential suicide bombers (AFP 2007g). The 24 were identified
as Youssef Khouidri (the suicide bomber who had failed to blow himself up
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on 11 March), Abderrahim Serri, Khaled Aref, Hamid El Gharbaoui, Hicham
Ettouini, Youssef Ouaziz, Abderrahim Boudhrif, Zakaria Bouchama, Abdelhaq
Hidri, Mohamed Essalhi, Mohamed Ettalbi, Mustapha Hidri, Youssef Boujiad,
Mohamed Hamdaoui, Abdessamad Chardoudi, Hassan Ait El Baz, Abdellatif
Aine, Abdellah Ennajm, Touhami Laanaya, Mourad Erraidhi, Abdallah Kricha,
Ousama Ould Jomaa, Hicham Amlili, and a minor, Ala Eddine M (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007cq). On 29 March 2007 Hicham El Moumni,
originally from Casablanca and described as the coordinator of the suicide
bombers, was arrested in Dakhla while attempting to leave for Mauritania
and Mali to join a GSPC/AQLIM training camp. He was claimed to have had
links with Abdelfettah Raydi but left after the 11 March explosion.
On 14 April 2007 two brothers detonated their suicide vests in Casablanca.
The bombers killed themselves near the US consulate in Casablanca and the
American Language Centre in the Boulevard Moulay Youssef. The bombers
were identified as Omar Maha (23), who had been one of the suspects in
the March 2007 suicide bombings in Casablanca, and Mohamed Maha (32),
previously unknown to the security forces (Kuwait Times 2007).
Moroccan Nationals linked to GSPC/AQLIM in Algeria
Although Algeria and Morocco do not have the best of relationships, they
work together on security matters (particularly on a tactical level), while
admitting that there is still much room for improvement in their cooperation.
Algerian terrorist groups historically used Morocco as an important supply
route. The following examples and court cases further emphasise the
importance of cooperation between the two countries.
Moroccan relationships with the GSPC exist on two levels. One is regional or
cross-border cooperation with extremist movements in Algeria, particularly in
smuggling supplies through networks. The second is Moroccan participation
in the GSPC international network, particularly in Europe. An example of
Moroccan involvement in the GSPC in Europe manifested in the arrest and
trial of Yassine Chekkouri, a Moroccan, who was found guilty on 2 February
2004 of collaborating with the Milan cell of the GSPC in recruiting and
sending volunteers to Afghanistan, Algeria and Tunisia (AFP 2004c). Chapter
5 will continue this discussion.
The arrest of a French national, Robert Richard Antoine Pierre, alias Lahj,
alias Abu Abderrahmane, alias Yakoub, in the aftermath of the 2003
Casablanca attacks, led to the identification of 16 members of Al Oussuoud
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Khalidine (Timeless Lions), a Salafia Jihadia cell created by Pierre, who had
previously received training in Afghanistan. Members of the cell fled to Spain
via Ceuta. Eight members of the cell captured in Morocco confessed that
Pierre had taught at a workshop on ‘mines, grenades, bombs and guerrilla
tactics’ in woods near Tangiers known as Gueznaya. The cell members had
also received psychological indoctrination and training in weapons handling
and the preparation of explosives. Leading members of the cell were named
as Brahim Hamdi, Abdeslam Dachraoui and Rachid Aharez, while other
cell members were Meftah Abdelaziz, alias Moul Sossess, Lassiri Ismail Abu
Houdeifa, Ayatm Mustafa Al Azkari, Abdelilah Hisnou, Abu Ali, Mohamed
Maataoui, alias Souinaa, alias Chouaib, and Ahmed Baraka. Links had already
been forged with the GSPC through Abdelaziz Benyaich, who was arrested
in Algeria (Rodriguez 2003).
The following individual cases further reflect on the relationship between
extremists in Morocco and Algeria:
•
In July 2007 Moroccan security forces announced the arrest of 15
suspected al-Qa’eda members. According to security sources, the
suspects came from Algeria, but planned to execute acts of terrorism in
Morocco (Reuters 2007h)
•
In September 2007 the court in Sale condemned 21 suspected terrorists
who included Mohamed Reha and Mohamed Zemouri, two Belgians of
Moroccan origin who were planning to set up ‘a terrorist cell in Morocco
and preparing to send its members to Algeria to train in jihad and to join
the GSPC/AQLIM’. The cell that had been dismantled in November 2006
was led by Reha and Khalid Azig, who had links with Brahim Benchekroun
and Mouhamed Mazouz, former Guantanamo detainees who had been
arrested in Afghanistan (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cr). According
to the security forces, Azig had studied theology in Syria and had made
frequent trips between Syria and Turkey, while Reha, who had also
travelled to Syria, had links to Islamist radicals in Europe (Reuters 2007i).
Confirming the broader threat and impact, Reha told police that ‘not only
were we preparing jihad operations in Morocco, but we were working to
expand our jihadist movement to all the countries of the Maghreb with
the help of our Algerian brothers from the GSPC’ (Guitta 2007). Reha,
Zemouri and Azig were sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment after being
found guilty of ‘forming a criminal gang to plan and commit terrorist acts
as part of a collective plan aimed at seriously harming public order; and
collecting and procuring money with the purpose of using it for terrorist
acts’. The court sentenced two defendants, Hassan Alouan and Brahim
Anneli Botha
105
Benchekroun, who had previously been detained in Guantanamo Bay,
to ten years in prison. Four-year sentences were handed down against six
defendants – Bouchta Boujemaa, Mohamed Benzouhair, Omar Mahdi
Takhtaoui, Yassine Alioua, Ahmed Alilouch and Anouar El Jabri – after
they had been found guilty of charges of ‘forming a criminal gang to plan
and commit terrorist acts as part of a collective plan aimed at harming
public order’. The court passed three-year sentences on Abderrahim
Zajli, Ahmed Boukir and Yasser Al Otmani and two-year sentences
on Mohamed Mazouz, a former Guantanamo detainee, and Driss
Benlaakoul. Abdelkabir Chlieh was given a one-year term for being guilty
of not informing the authorities. The court acquitted Hamid Daouiane,
Farid Moussaid, Da Ali Ali and Ibrahim Draoui (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007cs). Of a total of 18 Moroccan who had been detained in
Guantanamo Bay, ten had already been handed over to Morocco. Said
El Boujaadia, Abdellatif Nassir and Younes Chagouri were among those
waiting to be deported to Morocco, where they are likely to stand trial
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ct)
•
In August 2005, Moroccan authorities dismantled a cell linked with
the Salafia Jihadia, arresting 30 people in Sale, Casablanca, Rabat,
Fes and Tetouan suspected of having been in contact with the GSPC.
Thirteen of the 30 were charged alongside six Moroccans handed over
by Algeria who were alleged to have received paramilitary training in
Algeria (Reuters 2005) and who were identified as Mustapha El Khayri,
alias Abu El Oualid, Abdelouahab El Bahloudi, Abdelhak El Basrawi,
Khaled El Marabiti, Abdelilah El Roudani and Mimoun Rahhou. They
were suspected of having made contact with Tarek Charkaoui through
the GSPC website run by Adel El Sakr, alias Abu Yaser El Sayyaf (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2005c). El Khayri, who was believed to be the
leader of the cell, and the others were charged with ‘threatening public
safety, theft, extortion, illegal possession of weapons, formation of a gang
to prepare and commit terrorist acts and membership of an unauthorised
association’ (AFP 2005b). Mohamed D, who was arrested in the suburbs
of Dakhla in Western Sahara, had entered Western Sahara illegally from
Mauritania. He admitted that he had received paramilitary training at a
camp run by the GSPC in the Malian Sahara (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2006j). The six Moroccans handed over by Algeria were some of
the 19 involved in this case who had entered Algeria secretly to join the
GSPC for military training
•
In another case, Anouar Mjerar, alias Anwar Mazrar, a Moroccan, was
sentenced after being extradited from Greece in October 2005 (AFP
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
2007j). He received a seven-year jail sentence for trying to establish links
with the GSPC and for preparing terrorist acts. He was arrested in Greece
on 13 September 2005 after escaping from France. According to French
intelligence, Mjerar was suspected of having set up a terrorist network.
French intelligence had informed the Greek authorities that Mjerar would
attempt to enter Greece from Turkey on a bus travelling from Istanbul to
Thessalonika (BBC Monitoring Europe, 2007)
•
On 2 February 2007 a court in Rabat sentenced 18 members of the
GSPC to up to ten years’ imprisonment. They were Mustapha Khayri,
alias Abou El Oualid (ten years), Abdelouhab El Bahlouli and Abdelhak
El Basraoui (eight years), Azeddine Nouali (six years), Khalid M’rabti,
Abdelilah Redouani and Ali El Abdi (five years), Mohamed Benharrous
and Lahcen Benmoussa (four years), Jaouad Aouam, Tarek Cherkaoui,
Mustapha Zitouni, Hassan Bouiyi and Abdelmouin Sbai (three years),
Kamal Belyamani and Mimoun Rahou (one year) and Abdelilah Roudani
and Abdelaziz El Ouafi (a fine of 5 000 dirhams). Younes Zitouni was
acquitted on all charges (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cu)
A fuller picture of the role Algerian nationals were playing in the threat
to security in the sub-region emerged when Moroccan security forces
dismantled a network of 26 suspects in February 2007 (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007cv and cx). They included:
•
Khaled T, the leader of the Tetouan, El Fnidiq and Wassan cell,
also referred to as the Tetouan cell, which originally specialised in
the recruitment of volunteers to Iraq. During interrogation, Khaled
acknowledged that while in Syria he had discussed a strategy to
establish a jihadist network in Morocco with Abdellatif B, a Moroccan.
The primary objective of the network was to attack ships at anchor
in the Strait of Gibraltar. Rachid Essoussi would carry out this mission
after he had completed his training in Iraq in the manufacturing and
use of explosives. Other members of the Tetouan cell were Ahmed
Safri, a Swedish national of Moroccan origin, and Mohamed Nadir,
who died while in custody. In addition to receiving ideological training
from the GSPC, the cell was believed to have received financial and
logistical support from this organisation as well as from the GICM (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007cw)
•
Yassine A and Fouad H were sent to Algeria to receive training in
the construction of car bombs. Their sponsor was Abdelali Meftah, a
Moroccan living in Belgium
Anneli Botha
•
107
Abdelmalek B, a Morocco, helped Yassine A and Fouad H to reach
Algeria with the assistance of a smuggling network operating between
Algeria and Morocco. Abdelmalek also provided assistance to Karim
Ouled Akka, brother of Mohamed Ouled Akka, who was killed in the
suicide blast in Leganes, Spain, after the Madrid bombings
Ceuta and Melilla
The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are of particular importance in
the counter-insurgency programmes of both Morocco and Spain. Although
under Spanish authority, the fact that the cities are situated in Morocco
means that they are used for jihadist propaganda. The living conditions of the
cities’ Muslim quarters make it a fertile breeding ground for extremists.
It therefore came as no surprise when Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez
Rubalcaba announced at a Spanish–Algerian summit in December 2006
that a cell whose members included ten Spanish citizens and one Moroccan
national had been dismantled (EFE News Service 2006). According to
information, the cell was associated with the Salafia Jihadia and had the
Darkawia mosque as its ideological centre. Its members included two
brothers of Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed, the so-called Spanish Taliban,
who had spent two years in Guantanamo Bay but was freed early in 2008
after terrorism charges against him in Spain were withdrawn. The cell had
allegedly planned to attack a military arsenal. During their search operations
police found forged documents, a flak jacket and an air pistol as well as cash,
computers and mobile phones (Reuters 2006).
Earlier, other areas around Ceuta had witnessed local acts of terrorism. Tetouan,
for example, had been implicated in a few threats beyond Morocco:
•
Jamal Ahmidan, a suspect in the bombings, who lived near the Hsida
mosque in Tetouan, died in a suicide blast during a subsequent standoff
with Spanish police in Madrid on 3 April 2004 (Mail and Guardian 2007a)
•
Abdelmonaim el-A ani (22), a Tetouan labourer, detonated his vehicle
loaded with explosives on 6 March 2006 outside a funeral tent in a village
near Baqubah, Iraq, killing six people and injuring 27 (Whitlock 2007)
•
Moncef bin Masaoud (21), a Tetouan student attending college in
Tangiers and a close friend of Abdelmonaim el-Aani, died in another
suicide attack in Baqubah, Iraq, in August 2006 (Whitlock 2007)
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
Yones Achebbak (23) also left for Iraq in 2006 but his fate is unknown
(Whitlock 2007)
•
The Hsida mosque recruited two young residents for suicide bombings in
Baqouba, Iraq, in October 2006 (Mail and Guardian 2007a)
Of several Iraqi recruitment networks in Morocco uncovered by the country’s
security forces, one, which was dismantled in May 2007, included 23 Moroccan
members with links to other Moroccan nationals in Mauritania, Belgium and
Syria. Khalid Azig, a Moroccan and the network’s suspected leader, as well
as Mohamed Reha and his uncle Mohamed Zemmouri, two Belgians of
Moroccan origin, were among those arrested. Two former Guantanamo Bay
detainees, Brahim Benchekroun and Mahomed Mazouz, were also believed
to be part of this recruitment network (Dow Jones International News 2007h).
Mohsen Khaibar, a Moroccan currently living in Syria, was named as a link
between Iraqi recruitment networks in Morocco and Algeria. The role of
the internet in the recruitment process was again confirmed when detainees
indicated that they used the internet to communicate with Algerian and
Moroccan nationals (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cy).
The borders between Algeria and Morocco and between Algeria and Mali
have always been areas of concern.
•
After a raid in 1994, Said Hamaz was jailed in Casablanca for 15 years
for arms trafficking between Morocco and Algeria (AFP 2001)
•
In December 2005 Moroccan authorities arrested 11 suspects in
Casablanca for allegedly belonging to a group active on the border
between Algeria and Mali and with ties to the GSPC (AFP 2005c)
•
Mohamed Said Idghiri, a Moroccan and the suspected cell leader, was
arrested in Casablanca. According to police, he was trained at a secret
Sahel-African Islamist paramilitary camp in the Sahel-Saharan region
before returning to Morocco to organise attacks (AFP 2005c). Idghiri and
13 other suspects were believed to be linked to a group operating on the
Algeria-Mali border (Reuters 2006a)
•
Cross-border incursions continued during 2007. For example, in July
Moroccan authorities expected that more than ten Algerians had managed
to infiltrate from Algeria into Morocco (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007cz). The Misab mountains and the border region around Tlemcen saw
an increase in activities during 2007. In addition to cross-border incursions,
Anneli Botha
109
eastern Morocco also witnessed the setting up of mobile training camps
for individuals of different nationalities. By contrast with similar camps in
southern Algeria and northern Mali, the mobile training camps in eastern
Morocco were used for the training of smaller groups – often between
seven and ten people (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007da)
The year 2007 also saw the first fatality of a Moroccan national aligned to
GSPC/AQLIM in Algeria. Algerian security forces killed Mohamed Ridha
Belhachemi in late July near Tizi Ouzou (BBC Monitoring Middle East
2007db). One of six Moroccans known to have been based in Algeria,
Belhachemi was one of three Moroccans filmed in a video released by
AQLIM. The other two were identified as Mohamed Bakkali and Mohamed
Agbalou. Others wanted for their alleged association with a terrorist network
active in the region were Bilal Hamam, Aziz Chakouani, alias Youssef, and
Abdelali Chairi, alias Bechir (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dc).
Organised crime and the financing of terrorism
Moroccan authorities released a 110-page report at a counter-terrorism
summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February 2005. Drafted by Morocco’s
Territorial Surveillance Directorate (DST), a counter-espionage and political
police agency, and the Moroccan National Judicial Police, the report noted
that Islamist terrorist organisations have branched out into other criminal
activities as a means of financing their operations. It suggested that much of
the money used to finance the 11 March attacks in Madrid had come from
drug trafficking. ‘The savage and bloody acts [of 11 March] were financed
by drug trafficking endorsed by a fatwa from within the terrorist organisation
responsible for the attacks,’ the report stated, noting that the fatwa, or Islamic
edict, ‘provided religious legality for the use of criminal acts, such as drug
trafficking, to finance the perpetration of any action aimed at destroying the
infidel enemy’.
In stressing the growing relationship between Islamist terrorism and organised
crime, the Moroccan authorities also pointed to incidents other than the
11 March attacks and the Casablanca bombings in May 2003. The report
also listed terrorist plots that the police have discovered and managed to
prevent, among them attacks against foreign interests, including embassies,
hotels and fast-food restaurants, churches and synagogues. Nonetheless, the
report argued that Moroccan security forces have managed to ‘dismantle the
most important’ terrorist networks in the country, arresting more than 2 000
people for terrorism-related crimes (Cembrero 2005).
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Conclusion
Despite reference to terror networks, the real threat of terrorism presents itself
in small and independent cells, often involving members of the same family and
almost always individuals with previous prison records for their involvement
in dismantled terror networks or in other crime, especially narcotics-related
offences. In understanding the current and potential threat of terrorism to the
region, it is essential to focus on the radicalisation process as experienced
in Morocco. As mentioned previously, the success of terror organisations is
determined by their ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to use
specific circumstances for their own advantage. Morocco’s vulnerability is
increased by:
•
Poor socio-economic conditions concentrated in particular areas. While
it is important to emphasise that not all the people in dire circumstances
will turn to terrorism, previous examples have proved that poor socioeconomic conditions influence a person’s susceptibility to be radicalised.
Conditions such as unemployment, illiteracy and slums further contribute
to hopelessness and isolation
•
Conviction of individuals for relatively short prison terms on the
slightest suspicion of having been involved in terrorism-related activities.
Radicalisation while being imprisoned has proved to be an area of
concern. It was estimated in December 2006 that approximately 370
individuals were currently in prison in Morocco for terrorism-related
offences. A further 260 had been pardoned in the previous few years
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006k)
With the alignment of the GSPC with al-Qa’eda, an ideological framework
was created to further justify violence and to train extremists in the region.
The internet and individual radicalisation have been of great concern.
Morocco’s experience makes it clear that one does not need to have
coordinated organisations in order to threaten the state and its population.
How to counter this threat is another challenge that will be discussed in
Chapter 6.
CHAPTER 4
TERRORISM IN TUNISIA
Tunisia gained its independence from France in 1956. As in the case of
Morocco and Algeria, the origin of Islamist groups can be traced back to
domestic and international circumstances during the 1960s and 1970s. In
the following discussion, the primary role-players will be briefly presented,
as will the similarities and differences in the conditions contributing to
these developments. In the same way as Morocco and Algeria, Tunisia
faced socio-economic challenges while its government faced a growing
legitimacy crisis.
During the 1970s, Tunisia began to experience economic difficulties, resulting
in high unemployment, particularly of the youth. A growing gap between
the younger and older generations followed this increasing unemployment
and the student unrests of 1971 and 1972. Universities joined mosques
as breeding grounds for Islamists. During the 1970s the government also
allowed schools and factories to build their own mosques on their premises
thus enabling Islamists to increase their influence on the youth. While the
Algerian bread riots of October 1988 and the earlier riots in Morocco in 1965
had served as landmark events, Tunisia’s own economic crisis culminated in
its own bread riots in 1984 (Hermassi 1995:107).
Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami, or the Islamic Liberation Party (ILP) – which was
founded in Jerusalem in 1948 and which aimed at the establishment of
an Islamic state and the restoration of the Caliphate – had a branch in
Tunisia. The government became aware of its activities and prosecuted 29
members in a military court in August 1983 for ‘establishing a clandestine
organisation with a political objective’. Nineteen of the 29 were army
officers, making this the first trial involving military personnel since 1962
(Shahin 1997:81-82).
Harakat al-Ittijah al-Islami, or the Islamic Tendency Movement (MTI),
was influenced by a search for an ideological alternative of the state
and became a strong breeding ground for Islamism, particularly after the
Tunisian government had, in the same way as Algeria, incorporated secular
ideological principles. Rashid al-Ghannoushi, the MTI leader who had been
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria and by Salafism when he
was at university in Damascus, was convinced that social reform based on
the true principles of Islam was the only option for his country. Reflecting a
similar frustration to one that had led to the Arabisation process in Algeria,
Ghannoushi made the following observation when he returned to Tunisia:
‘I remember we used to feel like strangers in our own country. After having
been educated as Muslims and Arabs, we found our own country totally
moulded in the French cultural identity’ (Shahin 1997:69-70). Still apolitical,
Ghannoushi joined Abdel Fattah Mourou in giving lectures at secondary
schools and mosques based on three issues:
•
Promoting Islamic principles, such as studying the Qur’an, Sunna and
other religious texts
•
Explaining the differences between Islamic principles and those considered
to be un-Islamic, including Western democracy and Marxism
•
Demonstrating differences between what is practised and what is
preached
During this stage, the government generally tolerated Islamic movements,
which were not considered a threat. Leftist elements were then regarded
as the primary threat, with Islamist movements counterbalancing the left,
particularly in mosques, schools and universities. In its early days, the MTI
focused on moral issues and was considered as a ‘religious association with
reformist tendencies’ (Shahin 1997:71). With the government presenting itself
as favouring Islamic principles, the MTI was free to broaden its support base.
The MTI was well structured and included:
•
Usar maftuha, or open cells, at the base, with an average of five members
each. These open cells acted as study groups, tasked with discussing
religious, political and economic issues. From them, committed members
could be selected for integration into closed cells
•
Usar multazima, or committed or closed cells. These were clustered
around 18 regional councils. Each regional council was headed by an
amil or governor, who in turn was appointed by the MTI’s emir. The
amil’s own organisational apparatus was responsible for the religious and
political grouping of members in the open and closed cells
•
In 1987 the militant core of the MTI, headed by Al-Jibali, was estimated
as having between 4 000 and 6 000 members (Shahin 1997:90-91;94)
Anneli Botha
•
113
Al-Maktab al-Siyasi, or the political bureau, was responsible for issuing
public statements and liaising with other political actors
In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, the Tunisian government began to
question the motives of the Islamist movements, and this often led to open
confrontation. Becoming defensive, the Tunisian government then tried to
project the state as the guardian of Islam. Former Interior Minister Driss
Guiga stated in 1981:
We are six million Tunisian Muslims. We are all the Islamic Tendency.
No one can accept that certain individuals claim the monopoly of
Islam and pretend to act under its name or its sacred values in order
to hide their political goals (Shahin 1997:84).
During its conference in May 1981, the MTI decided to continue with its
double strategy. Keeping its clandestine base, it also worked to achieve
broader recognition by forming alliances with other political role-players
(Mahmoud 1996:250). At the same time, President Bourguiba began to
experience difficulties, particularly because of the lack of well-defined
economic and social policies. The government introduced authoritarian
policies, moving towards a domination of power and control, while Islamists
saw an opportunity to take control. Opting for a political non-violent
approach, the MTI asked for recognition as a political party. The government
reacted in July 1981 by arresting 60 members, including the MTI leadership,
charging them with forming an illegal organisation, defaming the president
and publishing false news reports (Shahin 1997:87).
In the mid 1980s Tunisia had a favourable climate for the growth of
extremism. As well as poor socio-economic conditions and in particular a
high unemployment rate, the government was weak and disorganised and
open to direct challenges. These led it to ban radical fundamentalist groups,
and this action in turn led to feelings of marginalisation. After decades of
relative prosperity, the Tunisian economy was in crisis in the early 1980s.
Revenue from oil was halved in 1986 due to the fall in world prices. Income
from tourism dropped by 11 per cent after the Israeli raid on the Palestine
Liberation Organisation (PLO) headquarters in Tunis. And the substantial
income flow from Tunisians working in Libya was cut after Colonel Gadaffi
expelled 40 000 Tunisian workers in 1985. Also, following the drought of
1986, food imports doubled (The Times 1987).
From 1985 to 1987, the Tunisian government, particularly under Interior
Minister Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, cracked down more severely on opposition
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
groups, adding to the growing political crisis. Helping to justify harsher
counter-measures were events including:
•
The arrest in France of a group that included seven Tunisians suspected
of planning bombings in Paris in March 1987 (Shahin 1997:97;99).
Possible links with Iran were suggested, playing into the hands of the
Tunisian government in its campaign against the MTI
•
In July 1987 violent demonstrations organised by the MTI left eight
policemen and a demonstrator injured. Approximately 200 young people
carrying MTI banners threw petrol bombs and stones. A police car
was burnt out before riot police managed to restore order (MacDonald
1987)
•
On 2 August 1987 bombs exploded injuring 13 people at Hana Beach,
Hannibal Palace, Le Kuriat and Sahara Beach in Sousse and Monastir.
The Tunisian government implicated the Iranian government (Middle
East Economist Digest 1987). Notwithstanding these claims, a group
calling itself Jihad Islamique, or Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for
the attack (Ghiles 1987)
In the aftermath of these developments, the MTI was implicated in a plot to
overthrow the Tunisian government and replace it with a new government
based on the Iranian model. Subsequently, in August 1987, 99 MTI members
were charged with ‘forming an illegal organisation; plotting subversive
actions with Iran; and attempting to overthrow the government’. Five of the
seven members sentenced to death were Hamadi Jebali, Ali Laaridhi and
Salah Karkar, accused of organising the violent street protests in July; Fethi
Maatoug, accused of planting bombs in a hotel on 2 August; and Abdelmajid
Mili, charged with direct involvement in the blasts. Another 69 received
sentences ranging from two years to life imprisonment. These sentences had
international repercussions. For example, in Beirut on 28 September 1987,
Islamic Jihad, a pro-Iranian Lebanese group which was holding Western
hostages, threatened to kill Tunisian government officials if the death
sentences were carried out (The Globe and Mail 1987).
On 7 November 1987, the retired General Ben Ali, who by then had become
Prime Minister Ben Ali, replaced President Bourguiba as the head of state due
to medical reasons. In an attempted reconciliation with moderate Islamists,
President Ben Ali introduced measures including:
•
The reinstatement and reaffirmation of Islam as the country’s religion
Anneli Botha
115
•
The adoption of a more conciliatory attitude towards what for the first
time was considered moderate Islamism
•
Strict legal measures against all types of subversive activity in the name
of Islam (Hermassi 1995:109-110)
On the political level the following concessions were made:
•
A general amnesty for MTI members then imprisoned
•
The inclusion of the MTI and its secretary-general, Sheikh Abdelfattah
Mourou, in the High Islamic Council, a consultative body created by the
government to deal with religious matters (Reuters 1988)
•
The inclusion of the MTI in the the National Pact, which brought together
all political parties to draft rules of political participation
•
The participation of Islamists in the elections of 2 April 1989 as
independents
•
The legalisation of an Islamist student organisation
•
The legalisation of the publication al-Fajr, an Islamist newspaper (this
legalisation was, however, withdrawn in January 1991)
The MTI expressed its willingness to adhere to the new party law of 1988
which prohibited the formation of political parties on the basis of religion,
region or language and changed its name to Harakat an-Nahda or the
Renaissance Movement (Wright 1988). In essence, an-Nahda hoped to
introduce Shari’a law through participating in the electoral process, in the
same way as other organisations, such as the FIS, had done in Algeria.
Other ideals included ‘distributing the wealth of the country, transparency,
modernising Islam, and rebuilding an Islamic identity and civilisation in
Tunisia and the world’.
In the elections of April 1989, an-Nahda candidates attracted tremendous
support for the party’s ideals, gaining a position as the opposition (Carroll
2007). Although an-Nahda’s application to be a political party had been
turned down, its candidates stood as independents and won 15 per cent of
the total vote, with up to 40 per cent in major cities including Tunis. However,
instead of being admitted to parliament the an-Nahda independents were
arrested on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the government.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Subsequently, the government introduced harsher measures against Islamists,
including banning Middle Eastern Islamic clothing, changing the curriculum
of Islamic subjects, closing mosques after prayer and controlling mosques
with government-appointed imams (Shahin 1997:100-101). For example,
on 16 November 1987, 76 people including middle-ranking police, army
and customs officers were arrested in connection with a plot to assassinate
members of the government. According to Interior Minister Habib Ammar,
the suspects obtained arms from Mohamed Chammam, a leader of the MTI.
Chamman was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in jail at a mass trial in
September. Sayed Ferjani, a Tunis video-club owner who had been among
those arrested, was believed to have assisted two MTI leaders also sentenced
to flee the country. According to security forces, tear gas bombs were bought
from France with money from Habib Mokni, a prominent MTI leader living in
exile in Paris (Dick 1987).
During the government crackdown:
•
On 16 April 1988 Fatah Deputy Commander Khalil al-Wazir, alias Abu
Jihad, was assassinated in Tunis (the PLO in Tunisia had previously been
targeted in October 1985) (Dick 1988)
•
On 17 February 1991 the office of the Rassemblement Constitutionnel
Democratique in Bab Souika was attacked and one guard was killed
•
On 21 May 1991 a court in Tunis sentenced eight of the accused in the
Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique attack to life imprisonment
and 19 others to between two and 20 years in jail (Reuters 1991)
•
In May 1991 the interior ministry announced the discovery of a plot initiated
by an-Nahda to overthrow the government. Subsequently 300 suspects
were arrested, including some 100 senior military officers. According to
prosecutors, the officers had met in the region of Hammamet, 60 km
south of Tunis, on 6 January to plot their coup. Among other targets, they
planned to seize the defence and interior ministries, take over radio and
television stations and take over the security force barracks around the
capital before occupying the presidential palace (Reuters 1991a)
•
In August 1992 a plot to assassinate President Ben Ali by a suicide
attack was uncovered. There was a later indication that the plot had a
transnational dimension after Italian police intercepted a letter written
in 1993 while he was in custody by Mondher Ben Mohsen Baazaoui,
alias Hamza the Tunisian. Baazaoui, a member of an-Nahda and also a
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Bosnian Mujahideen, had written to Imam Mohamed Saidani in Bologna,
who in turn knew Anwar Shaaban of the European Shura council and
Osama bin Laden (Kohlmann 2004:76)
In summary, while an-Nahda presented itself as a non-violent political party,
it was implicated in clashes with security forces, sporadic violence against
government institutions and plotting the violent overthrow of the government
and replacing it with an Islamic state. While neighbouring Algeria was
experiencing similar but more extensive activities, it was to be expected that
Tunisia feared a similar path. In reaction, President Ben Ali declared an-Nahda
illegal and jailed its leaders and many of its adherents. Although they had
attracted support, the Tunisian Islamists, in contrast to their counterparts in
Algeria, had underestimated the strength of the country’s government and
overestimated their own strength.
Subsequently, a proactive anti-terrorist policy effectively safeguarded Tunisia
from Islamist extremism until 2002. However, in spite of a rigid anti-terrorism
campaign a number of Tunisians along with other North Africans became
involved in transnational terrorism. Some examples:
•
The identification of Fakhit, a Tunisian, as the mastermind of the Madrid
train bombings
•
Tarek Maaroufi, a Tunisian headed the GSPC’s network in Belgium.
•
In Afghanistan the assassination of General Ahmad Shah Mas’ud, an
anti-Taliban Afghan leader, was the responsibility of two Tunisian suicide
bombers – former residents of Belgium who had disguised themselves
as journalists in order to interview Mas’ud. When they finally did, they
detonated their booby-trapped camera
However, apart from the Tunisian involvement in Algeria, the majority of
suspects involved in transnational terrorism used European countries as a base.
One of 12 Tunisians captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan was Nisar Sassi
(28), who had been handed over by the US in 2004 and was subsequently
arrested in France. According to Abdallah al-Hajji, who was handed over to
Tunisian authorities by the US in 2006, Sassi had worked in a fabric store
in Pakistan since 1990. Pakistani authorities had arrested Al-Hajji in 2003
and had turned him over to the US. Back in Tunisia, Al-Hajji was being
prosecuted for his suspected affiliation with the Tunisian Islamic Front (FIT).
Earier, in 1995, a Tunisian court had tried Al-Hajji in absentia and sentenced
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him to 15 years’ imprisonment for joining a terrorist organisation in Pakistan
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dd). The involvement of Tunisian nationals
in Iraq will be discussed in a later chapter.
On 11 April 2002, a Tunisian, Nisar Naouar (24), alias Nisar Seif Eddin
al-Tunisi, drove a truck loaded with cooking gas cylinders into the El Ghriba
synagogue in Djerba, the oldest in Africa, killing 16, including 11 Germans,
one Frenchman and three Tunisians, and injuring a further 26 Germans. The
Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Sites claimed responsibility. This
group was allegedly connected to al-Qa’eda and claimed responsibility for
the attack in letters to Arabic newspapers in London. Authorities in Tunisia
and France arrested relatives and friends of Naouar after the attack, including
Belgacem Naouar, his uncle, who was later prosecuted and convicted in
Tunisia. Two accomplices, a Polish convert to Islam and a Moroccan, were
arrested in Paris (Henley 2002). The attack was also linked to Germany
through a telephone call Naouar had made an hour before the explosion to
Christian G. According to German authorities, Christian G was a Polish-born
German living in Duisburg, Germany (Financial Times 2002).
The Tunisian Combatant Group, founded in 2000 by Tarek Maaroufi and
Saifallah Ben Hassine, is linked to al-Qa’eda and other extremist groups in
Europe. Some of its associates are suspected of plotting to attack the US,
Algerian and Tunisian embassies in Rome in December 2001. The group
functions mainly as a recruiter for Muslim fighters and a false document facility.
Maaroufi himself was arrested and charged by Belgian authorities with providing
assistance to the assassins of Ahmad Shah Mas’ud, an Afghan rebel leader and
ally of the US, by giving them stolen passports and fake visas (AFP 2002a).
The Zarzis group is named after the town Zarzis in southern Tunisia close
to the Libyan border, from where members of the group originated. In April
2004, a Tunis court sentenced six suspects, mainly high school and university
students and identified as Hamza Mahroug, Abdelghaffar Guisa, Aymen
Mcharek, Omar Rachedun, Omar Farouk Chalendi, and a teacher, Ridha Haj
Brahim, to jail terms totalling 19 years and three months for their roles in a
defused terror plot. The group’s suspected leader, Tahar Guemair, who was
believed to be in Sweden, and another suspect, Ayoub Sfaxi, said to be living
in France, received sentence in absentia totalling 26 years and three months.
Under questioning, members of the group, also known as the Prophet Brigades,
acknowledged having prepared attacks in and around Zarzis. One attack was
planned to target a port security official using a rocket launcher. The group also
used the internet to get access to instructions on how to construct explosive
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devices. According to Tunisian officials, several accomplices left Tunisia in 2002
to establish links with al-Qa’eda (Dow Jones International News 2004a). A
week after the previous trial, the Tunis court sentenced Abderrazak Bourguiba
(18) to 25 months in prison for terrorist activities (Ben Bouazza 2004). Three
months later the appeal court reduced the longer jail sentences to 13 years as
the state had failed to show evidence of the materials and equipment used to
prepare explosives. However, the men confessed to having planned the attack
(Reuters 2004a). In February 2006 the Tunisian government released members
of the Zarzis group as part of a mass pardon to mark the 50th anniversary of
the country’s independence from France (AP 2006).
Tunisian Nationals linked to GSPC/AQLIM in Algeria
The GSPC operated in the Tebessa region along the Tunisian border, an area
also used to train Tunisian extremists. On the Tunisian side of the border,
the Kasserine region proved to be a centre of activities that included attacks,
as well as cross-border smuggling networks involving both Algerians and
Tunisians. During 2001 it was estimated that approximately 200 Tunisian
extremists linked to the Ennahda group led by Rached El Ghannouchi, in exile
in London, had been trained by GSPC members in the region (AFP 2001a).
The border area with Tunisia had remained active since the start of the conflict
in Algeria. For example, on 25 October 2001 a group of terrorists suspected
of being associated with the GSPC attacked a border post near Oum Ali in
the Kasserine region close to the Algerian border. Three soldiers were killed
when two explosive devices were detonated. While only Algerians had been
implicated in previous attacks, this attack indicated the involvement of Tunisians
as two of the bombs that were defused had been constructed with gas bottles
from Tunisia (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2001). Again on 28 October 2001,
three Tunisian soldiers were killed and several others were injured when their
truck hit a home-made bomb at Oum Ali (AFP 2001a). The Kasserine region
again attracted attention in early November 2002 when Tunisian security forces
seized 200 kg of explosives and ammunition. As part of a weapons trafficking
network active between Algeria and Tunisia, seven people were arrested but
three managed to get away including two Algerians. This Algerian-Tunisian
network was previously implicated in the trafficking of red mercury and the
printing of counterfeit banknotes (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2002).
However, security cooperation between Algeria and Tunisia is well established.
Cooperation was initiated in 1991 when the Tunisian authorities allowed
Algerian special forces to search for Emir Djaffer al-Afghani’s GIA group inside
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Tunisia (Emir Djaffer al-Afghani was later killed in March 1994 in Bouzerea). The
cooperation was still in place when Abderezak El Para’s group attacked a Tunisian
border post, killing two Tunisian soldiers, in May 2000. Algeria was interested in
the GSPC’s Tunisian connections, as was confirmed in the matter involving Busto
Arsisio, when four Tunisian logistics experts claimed to be working on behalf
of the GSPC were arrested in 2002. Algeria in turn did not stand in the way of
Tunisia when in 2001 it expelled the FIT’s Zaid Bachir, who had tried to join the
GSPC in the east of Algeria (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2005e).
A number of Tunisians were killed or arrested in Algeria on suspicion of
attempting to join the GSPC. For example, in November 2001 Algerian
security forces killed seven armed extremists, two of them Tunisians and one
Mauritanian, in the Zbarbar Mountains near Bouira, 120 km southeast of Algiers
(AFP 2001a). In another example, Algerian security forces arrested six Tunisians
in Annaba in March 2005 for attempting to join the GSPC. The Tunisian
government suspected that the six may have been part of a regional al-Qa’eda
network planning attacks on Western targets in Tunisia. The eldest was 28 and
had already received training in the Meftah Mountains. The discovery of homemade explosive devices further supported the suspicion that those arrested
were preparing a large-scale attack against Western interests in Tunis or other
Tunisian resorts. The security forces also found satellite images accessed through
Google Earth of both the British High Commission and the US embassy, as well
as the names of diplomats representing both countries (AFP 2007l).
Islamist extremism in Tunisia proved to be better organised than the Tunisian
agencies suspected (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005e). Algerian security
forces also claimed on 25 April 2005 to have arrested 24 terrorist suspects,
among them four Tunisians, en route to a meeting with GSPC militants close
to Algiers (De Bendern 2005). In August 2005 five Tunisians were arrested
after they had received paramilitary training in the Ain Barbar region and
were about to rejoin one of the small GSPC groups active in the Edough
Mountains (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005f).
In October 2006 the Tunisian authorities also charged Hichem Essadi, a
medical student, on suspicion of belonging to the GSPC and attempting to
participate in the insurgency in Iraq. Essadi had already been serving three
years’ imprisonment for attempting to join the insurgency in Iraq before he
was freed in terms of the February 2006 amnesty (Reuters 2006b).
Jumping to 2007, in January, Zied Ghodhbane, a Tunisian, was sentenced to
11 years’ imprisonment in Tunisia after he had been arrested in Algeria in
May 2005. The court also sentenced two other unidentified Tunisians to two
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years in prison in the same case. One was convicted on a charge of financing
Ghodhbane’s trip to Algeria and the other for attempting to join a terrorist
organisation (AP 2007f).
During 2007, after the alignment of the GSPC with al-Qa’eda, the involvement
of Tunisians again received attention. In March 2007, for example, 14
Tunisians aged between 20 and 25 were convicted in Tunisia for having links
with the GSPC in Algeria. Seven had been arrested in Algeria before being
handed over to Tunisian authorities in April 2005, while the others were
accused of planning to travel to Algeria to prepare for jihad in Iraq. Among
them were Ghaith Ghazouani, Mahar Bezyouch and Mohammed Amine
Aoun, each of whom was sentenced to ten years in prison (AFP 2007k).
In April 2007 a further five Tunisians, including Mohamed Moncef Baghdadi,
a computer expert, were convicted in two separate cases. In the first,
Baghdadi was found guilty of raising funds to send new recruits to the GSPC.
In the second, he was convicted for training in explosives – skills he planned
to use in Iraq. Baghdadi received sentences totalling 26 years’ imprisonment.
In the first case an additional two suspects were sentenced to ten years’
imprisonment each, while another person was sentenced to 16 years’
imprisonment in the second case (Dow Jones International News 2007i).
A fifth accused, Mehdi Mabrouk, a student, was sentenced to seven years’
imprisonment for planning to join the insurgency in Iraq (AP 2005g).
On 1 August 2007 six foreigners – three Tunisians, two Libyans and one
Moroccan – were killed in a large-scale security operation in the Bir El-Ater
Mountain in the province of Tebessa. It was officially estimated that some 70
terrorists were operational in the Bir El-Ater region (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007de). Several attacks were also directed against members of the
security forces in the Tebessa area. For example, on 17 March 2007 a homemade explosive device in Tebessa seriously injured an officer of the ANP. The
incident occurred during a search operation in the mountainous Doukhane
chain, in Djebel Anwel (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007df).
Algeria and Tunisia have strengthened their joint border surveillance, using
electronic sensors and drones. This heightened security aims to improve the
monitoring of the covert terrorist withdrawals across both sides of the border.
In addition to the involvement of Tunisians in Algeria, Tunisian security officials
uncovered Algerian involvements in threats to its security on 23 December
2006 and 3 January 2007. The first incident was near the forested area of
Solimane at Hammam-Lif, 25 km south of Tunis. In an exchange of gunfire
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between Tunisian security officials and a group of extremists, one soldier, one
policeman and 14 of the suspects were killed and a further 15 suspects were
arrested (Reuters 2007). Six of the group were believed to have come from
Algeria. The head of the group, Lassaad Sassi, a former Tunisian policeman,
was killed. Originally from Bir el-Bey, near Hammam-Lif, Sassi had apparently
spent time in Afghanistan and Italy where he headed a cell in Milan before
travelling to Algeria. The Milan cell was believed to be providing military
clothing and money to the GSPC and financing and planning suicide bomb
attacks in Italy. According to Tunisian security forces, Sassi and five other men
– four Tunisians and one Mauritanian – had crossed the border from Algeria to
organise a terrorist cell in Tunisia (Smith 2007). They had established a training
camp in mountains in Djebel Ressass and Boukornine, south of the capital.
In a follow-up engagement on 3 January 2007 Lassaad Sassi’s deputy, Bacha,
was killed in Solimane, a small town near Nabeul, 40 km south of Tunis
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dg). The terrorists had apparently planned
to split into two groups, targeting Hammam-Chott in the southern suburb of
Tunis, and Grombalia on the road to Cap Bon (Maghreb Confidential 2007).
In November 2007 charges including plotting an attack against the security
of the state, attempted aggression aimed at overturning the regime and
inciting the population to kill one another were brought against 30 suspected
Islamist extremists, reportedly belonging to a group called Soldiers of Assan
Ibn Al Fourat, the name of its leader, who had been involved in clashes with
security forces in December and January. The suspects had been arrested
after police had launched an attack against the group in the town of Soliman,
40 km south of the capital. Zouhair Jridi was charged with failing to provide
information to security forces about planned acts of terrorism and an attack
on Ain Tbornok, more than 30 km outside Tunis (AP 2007i).
On an Islamist website, the Youth of Tawhid and Jihad in Tunisia declared
a jihad on President Ben Ali, accusing him of harming Muslims in general
and Muslim women in particular – a reference to a recent campaign against
the wearing of head scarves (AP 2007(h) and BBC Monitoring Middle East,
2007dh). Tunisia and other Muslim countries striving to enhance women
rights have been confronted by extremist organisations that consider these
practices ‘un-Islamic’. In countering any additional threat, Tunisian authorities
decided to ban all Algerian males under 30 years of age from entering the
country (Guitta 2007).
On 18 February 2007, 14 Tunisians were tried on charges of joining a terrorist
organisation and receiving military training outside Tunisia. Although a few
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denied these accusations, a number of the accused admitted to have travelled
to Algeria in order to receive military training ahead of joining the resistance in
Iraq. Seven of the accused had been arrested in Algeria two years previously
and had been handed over to Tunisia (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007di).
Conclusion
Tunisia’s domestic and international circumstances were similar to those
of Algeria and Morocco. However, until President Ben Ali took over in
November 1987, Tunisia’s political development was remarkably different
from that of the other two countries in this North African region. Although
the MTI in Tunisia could be described as one of the more developed parties
in the region – in addition to the FIS in Algeria – subsequent developments
influenced a different outcome.
President Ben Ali’s dual strategy was to address both the current and the
potential threats. In addition to arresting those implicated in terrorism, his
government embarked on a programme to address the country’s socioeconomic needs.
Its closed political scenario has had the greatest influence on developments
in Tunisia. Whereas in Morocco the prime factor for the increase in unrest
has been socio-economic, in Tunisia the inability of the younger generation
to participate in the country’s political life has been the main concern. The
growth of radicalisation, especially among university students, has often been
on an individual basis rather than through underground organisations. The
involvement of Tunisians in transnational terrorism operations in Europe, Iraq
and Algeria also manifest an apparent inability and lack in support to direct
its operations to Tunisia.
CHAPTER 5
NORTH AFRICAN INVOLVEMENT IN
TRANSNATIONAL TERROR NETWORKS
Counter-terrorism strategies during the 1990s in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
assisted the spread and development of transnational terrorism networks
in Europe. Political exclusion, mass arrests and convictions forced those
involved or suspected of being involved in political opposition or acts of
violence and terrorism to leave for countries where they would have more
freedom to continue their activities (protected under the guise of political
asylum). From these safe havens a number of individuals directed operations
against their countries of origin.
At the same time, the absence of effective counter-terrorism strategies in
much of Europe further assisted the spread of terrorism. Initial freedom to
recruit and disseminate information had enabled members of the FIS, AIS,
GIA, GSPC and GICM to establish support networks in Europe. Initially
settling in France for language reasons, the GIA began a two-pronged
strategy of facilitating acts of terrorism in Algeria and committing violent acts
on French soil. As France’s own counter-terrorism strategies improved, the
networks spread to other European countries. As will be seen in this chapter,
these networks also facilitated training in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and,
later, participation in the insurgency in Iraq.
While Afghanistan war veterans had exercised a great influence on domestic
campaigns in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, Bosnian terrorists contributed
predominantly to the spread of networks and subsequent operations in
European countries. Europe was no longer considered as only a facilitation
network. It became a battleground, fuelled by the resentment of North
African immigrant communities.
Unlike the people involved in the 9/11 attacks on the US, who were mostly
Saudis and Egyptians, most of the attacks in Europe have been carried
out by North African groups such as the GIA, GSPC, GICM and allied
groups in Libya and Tunisia. Al-Qa’eda, as mentioned earlier, made use of
these established networks, particularly those of the GIA/GSPC, through
common ideology, training and operations, to enhance its own operations
in Europe.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
It is therefore essential to place recent developments in Europe in a historical
context. In countries with the most developed systems of political asylum and
basic human rights and civil liberties, it was relatively easy for groups such
as the GIA/GSPC from Algeria, the GICM from Morocco and others from
the Middle East to set up structures to support campaigns in their countries
of origin. Networks that had previously concentrated on propaganda and
fund-raising transformed themselves into networks for recruitment and for
facilitating the transnationalisation of what had previously been domestic
terrorism.
While a detailed discussion of the importance of Europe to the development
of transnational terrorism and the role of North Africa is beyond the scope of
this chapter, some salient points should be noted.
The establishment of immigrant communities in Europe provided a safe haven
for individuals coming from their respective countries of origin. The question
of integration and associated isolation enhanced a sense of brotherhood of
these communities. The close proximity of Europe and liberal immigration
laws made entry to these countries relatively easy. Activities such as the
illegal narcotics trade and the forging of official documents, in which some
members of the immigrant communities often participated, made it relatively
easy to merge organised crime and terrorism. As with France, networks were
established in Italy, Germany, the UK and other countries for the procurement
of weaponry destined for Algeria.
A sophisticated forgery cell in Rouiba, Algeria, led by an unnamed
businessman from Bordj Menaiel, had some 20 members and specialised
in the production of fake seals and stamps, residence documents, visas
and passports. Active between 2000 and 2006, this cell also organised the
escape of members of the GIA/GSPC members from Algeria to Spain. The
cell’s network extended to Algiers, Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou. Among the
items seized by the authorities in February 2006 were fake seals from the
air and border police, the Algerian customs service and Algerian consulates
in Spain (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006l).
Prior to the events of 9/11, some European security agencies were believed to
have turned a blind eye to these support networks as the perception existed
that they did not present a domestic threat. This perception dramatically
changed after 9/11 and especially after the Madrid and London bombings
when it became clear that terrorist networks and some members of
immigrant communities had changed their focus to include attacks in their
host countries.
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European countries also realised that in addition to the involvement of
individuals wanted in other countries who had made use of political asylum,
or of other illegal networks, a number of individuals involved in attacks such
as the London bombings had had no previous connection with extremism or
criminal activities but had been second and third generation immigrants, who
had been radicalised by established extremists often wanted in other countries.
Three generations of al-Qa’eda supporters were thus discernable – newly
radicalised established immigrants representing the third generation, those
trained in al-Qa’eda training camps representing the second generation, and
those who had participated in the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
as well as the war in Bosnia representing the first generation.
Unemployment, racial intolerance and a growing perception that the war
against terrorism was a war against Islam made it relatively easy for already
radicalised individuals from countries such as Algeria, as well as individuals
linked with the Afghan Mujahideen and Bosnian fighters, to recruit willing
followers. For example, Mohamed el Maghrebi, an Algerian who had settled
in Paris, played an important role in the radicalisation of Willy Brigitte, a
French national who had received training under Laskhar-e-Taiba in Pakistan.
Brigitte was later arrested on suspicion of coordinating a plot to attack
Australia’s energy network (Australian Broadcasting Committee, 2004).
It should be noted, as established in earlier chapters, that activities particularly
in Europe, were not limited to individuals representing similar nationalities.
Instead transnational networks were well established and interacted with
other networks across borders. In addition, European support cells became
specialised, at least to a certain extent. For example, a cell in France run by
Karim Bourti made use of a network of fake brand-named clothing for fundraising (Pecastaing 2004:156), while Bourti also sent recruits to al-Qa’eda
camps via London to Afghanistan. A second example, was the cell in Spain
which specialised in forging documents and passports (Schanzer 2002). Also,
the six members of the GSPC arrested in Italy in June 2003 included Tunisian
as well as Moroccan nationals. The depth of the GSPC’s network in Europe
had already become apparent when in April 2000 police broke up cells in Italy
and France that were believed to be planning to bomb a French market.
These networks were predominantly influenced by Afghanistan and Bosnian
Mujahideen. Nationals from the three countries under review continued
their involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya as
well as the second wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The particular influence of
the Bosnian Mujahideen will be apparent throughout this monograph. For
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
example, Abu el-Ma’ali, alias Abdelkader Mokhtari, as well as former GIA
commanders Abu Muhajir al-Djazairi and Abu Sabir al-Djazairi, established an
Algerian cell in Bosnia, while Al-Hajj Boudella, an Algerian combat instructor,
transferred from the Al-Sadda training camp in Afghanistan to Bosnia in 1992
(Kohlmann 2004:20;62).
Fuelling perceptions of a coordinated strategy in Europe, Spanish court
documents referred to the fact that Moroccan, Libyan and Tunisian terror
groups had met in February 2002 in Istanbul, Turkey, under the auspices of
Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the Jordanian radical who led al-Qa’eda in Iraq, to
plot how to bring holy war to Europe (Johnson et al 2005). This development
spelled serious consequences for European security forces.
The involvement of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals in transnational
acts of terrorism were however not limited to Europe: Among many examples
of the involvement of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals in networks
in Europe was the 3 July 2005 killing in Riyadh by Saudi security forces of
the country’s most wanted man, the al-Qa’eda leader in Saudi Arabia, Younis
Mohammad Ibrahim al-Hayyari, who was originally from Morocco and who
was also suspected of being involved in attacks in Riyadh carried out four
days before the Casablanca suicide bombings. Two Moroccans were also
accused of planning to hijack an aircraft in order to crash into a building in
Jeddah (AFP 2004k). Other examples that will be discussed in this chapter
include Lebanon and Iraq.
The following country-by-country discussion summarises the involvement of
Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals in terrorism networks in Europe
and the Middle East.
Lebanon
In September 2004 a GSPC cell was implicated in the recruitment for foreign
fighters for Iraq near Tripoli, Lebanon, and the Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian
refugee camp, also in Lebanon. Lebanon served as an important part of
the network for Algerian fighters. According to Algeria News, in July 2007
Syrians and a Lebanese living in Beirut were in charge of the reception of
volunteer jihadists (Algeria Events 2007). These new recruits received training
in combat and explosives before being sent to Iraq or Algeria.
Tunisian and Algerian nationals were also involved in Fatah al-Islam in
Lebanon. On 20 May 2007, the Tunisians listed below, who were among a
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group of 59 individuals which also included Syrian, Saudi Arabian, Yemeni,
Egyptian and Palestinian nationals, were charged with a number of terrorist
and related offences.
The Tunisians involved were:
•
Al-Bashir Bin Muhammad al-Tayyib al-Arimani (22), alias Abu-Khubayb
•
Ahmad Bin Ammar Bin Uthman Shawwat (21), alias Abu Asim al-Tunisi
•
Al-Azhar Bin Bashir Bin Ibrahim Ghawfah (21), alias Abu-Ramzi
al-Tunisi
•
Ali Bin al-Mabruk Bin Sa’d al-Jari (21), alias Abu-Ramzi al-Tunisi
•
Ali Bin Ammar al-Mahdi Bin Muhammad Buqadimah (19), alias AbuMuhannad al-Tunisi
•
Adil Abd-al-Sadiq Bin Muhammad al-Rahmani (32), alias Abu-al-Basir
al-Tunisi
•
Mahmud Bin al-Bashir Bin Abdallah Shawwat (25), alias Abu-al-Shayma
al-Tunisi
•
Muhammad Bin Ammar Bin Ali al-Jari (21), alias Abu-Abd-al-Haq
al-Tunisi
•
Abd-al-Razzaq Bin Ma’tuq Bin Misbah al-Tuwway (21), alias AbuUbaydah al-Tunisi
•
Fathi Bin Nasr Bin Husayn al-’Asadi (25), alias Abu-al-Fida al-Tunisi
Algerians in the group included:
•
Faysal Isma’il al-Uqlah (26), alias Abu-Shu’ayb al-Jaza’iri. Although born
in Algeria, he carried a forged Syrian identity card in the name of Basim
Hasan Muhammad Kilani and a forged Palestinian identity card in the
name of Basim Bassam Ya’cub. According to Lebanese security forces, he
was in charge of the Shari’a committee of Fatah al-Islam
•
Nasr al-Din Bin Abdo Belqaem (21), alias Abu-Yasir al-Jaza’iri. Although
born in Algeria, he carried a forged Syrian identity card in the name of
Muhammad Ali Abbud
130
•
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Izz al-Din Bin Abd-al-Qadir Bin Musa (32), alias Abu-Mu’taz al-Jaza’iri.
Although born in Algeria, he carried a forged Syrian census card in the
name of Sami Ahmad Baydun
A month later, on 20 June 2007, Syrian security forces in Lebanon announced
that they had arrested 40 Algerians who were attempting to join Fatah
al-Islam (BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007b).
France
France was the first choice for Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian immigrants,
as well as Islamists fleeing prosecution in their countries of origin. As
already indicated, a common language was one of the primary reasons.
As a result of attacks directed at French residents of Algeria (referred to in
Chapter 2), French security forces began to crack down on GIA networks
in France.
In addition to its network to support its operations in Algeria, Gunaratna
(2002:162-163) confirmed that al-Qa’eda had infiltrated the FIS and the GIA
in the early 1990s with the aim of demonising France among Algerians living
in France. Subsequently, in addition to targeting French and other Western
residents in Algeria, the GIA was able to mount several attacks against France
in 1995 and 1996. Three examples of detonations in Paris were:
•
An explosive device detonated in July 1995 at the Saint-Michel metro
station near the Notre Dame cathedral, which killed eight people and
injured a further 150
•
A nail bomb in August 1995, which injured 17 people
•
A car bomb in December 1996, which killed four people
Confirming the involvement of Algerian nationals, French police arrested
ten suspects, including Boualem Bensaid (28), an Algerian student, in Lille
in November 1995. Bensaid appeared to have acted as a go-between for
terrorist cells operating in France and the GIA. Investigators revealed that the
GIA recruited potential terrorists in suburban slums in France populated by
North African immigrants, many of them unemployed. Confiscated material
included documents, computers and accounting statements that shed light
on how the terrorist network received logistical and financial support from
outside France (Drozdiak 2005).
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Khaled Kelkal, who held Algerian and French citizenship and who was directly
linked through his fingerprints on an unexploded device, ran an information
bureau in contact with Human Concern International, based in Stockholm
and Zagreb which served as a staging point for the GIA’s transnational
operations. Kelkal, who was trained in Afghanistan, was also involved in an
international Arab-Afghan network. He was killed in a shootout with French
police in October 1995. A firearm found in his possession had been used
earlier to kill Sheikh Abdelbaki Sahraoui, a co-founder of the FIS. Kelkal was
believed to be a member of a group which travelled across Europe to hunt
down Algerian dissidents in exile who were against the use of violence in
Algeria (Kohlmann 2004:142).
Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian and a member of the GIA, worked with the
Roubaix cell as well as al-Qa’eda on another Paris metro bombing, this
time in 1996 at Port Royal, killing and injuring 91 people. Ressam was also
implicated and prosecuted for his involvement in the 2000 plot to blow up
Los Angeles international airport (the millennium plot) (Williams 2002:123).
Two members of this cell, Boualem Bensaid, the mastermind of the SaintMichel attack, and Smain Ait Ali Belkacem, the group’s bomb expert, were
sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002.
Earlier, in September 1999, French prosecutors had convicted 21 other members
of the Roubaix cell, including Bensaid, Belkacem and Karim Koussa to six to
ten years’ imprisonment (Gunaratna 2002:164). Rachid Ramda, who operated
from the UK, was extradited to France in 2005 where he was sentenced to ten
years’ imprisonment before further charges were brought against him in 2007
for his involvement in at least three bombings, including the 1995 attack on
the Saint-Michel metro, for which he had been the financier. Prosecutors also
suspected Ramda of handling the group’s propaganda through his contacts
with GIA cell members in Lille, Lyon and Paris (Von Derschau 2007a). Koussa,
who was implicated in a number of GIA terror plots, had received training in
Afghanistan and Pakistan (Kohlmann 2004:143).
The Roubaix cell was linked to the GIA as well as to al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Egypt)
and the Mujahideen in Bosnia, particularly Abu el-Ma’ali and Fateh Kamel. After
a shootout with French police, the apartment that served as a Roubaix hideout
blew up, killing Rachid Souindi and Said el-Laihar, two Moroccans, and Teli bel
Hachen, an Algerian. However, Lionel Dumont and Mouloud Boughelane, who
were leaders of the cell, escaped (Kohlmann 2004:195).
Although German authorities had primary jurisdiction over the Strasbourg
plot, which involved the Frankfurt cell, French authorities conducted
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their own investigations and convicted the following individuals (Vidino
2006:165):
•
Slimane Khalfaoui, alias Meliani, an Algerian linked to Mohammed
Bensakhria, who had been wanted by authorities since 1996, who was
sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment
•
Yacine Aknounche, an Algerian trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan
with the assistance of Abu Doha, was arrested in September 2000
and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment although he denied any
involvement in the Strasbourg plot
Following several successful prosecutions of the GIA in France its members
established cells in Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. As
Ambassador Ramtane Lamaara told a US House subcommittee hearing
on Africa in the aftermath of the bombings in France: ‘The international
dimensions of the Algerian terrorist groups became proven facts, as cells with
links to Iran, Afghanistan and Bosnia were identified or dismantled in France,
Italy, Belgium, Spain, Germany and the UK’ (Lama 1998).
After 9/11, the involvement of Algerian nationals in transnational terrorism
was better recorded. French authorities in particular arrested and convicted a
large number of Algerians for their involvement in the GIA. For example, on
30 November 2001, 19 GIA supporters were convicted in Paris for channelling
arms and false identity documents to terrorists in Algeria (Ganley 2001). One
of them, Laurent Mourad, a member of the London Algerian network, had
travelled to Paris in 2001 where he reported his passport stolen on five separate
occasions, being issued with new passports on each occasion and handing on
his old passports to other GIA members including Said Arif (Vidino 2006:173).
A more recent example was the extradition of Said Arif from Syria to France.
Arif, alias Slimane Chabani, alias Abderrahmane, who was born in Oran,
Algeria, deserted from the army and spent time in al-Qa’eda training camps
in Afghanistan. According to French officials, he was one of the closest
lieutenants of al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist behind beheadings and
a number of bombings in Iraq. Arif also had close relations with the Algerian
cell based in Frankfurt, Germany, which had been involved in the Strasbourg
plot. He escaped capture on that occasion and reached the Caucasus,
specifically Georgia, where he collaborated with al-Qa’eda and veterans of
Afghan camps. He was later arrested in France for his involvement in the
ricin plot. The network was dismantled in December 2002 with the arrest of
nine suspects in the Paris suburbs of La Courneuve and Romainville (Dow
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Jones International News 2004c). This cell, which was led by Merouane
Benahmed, an emir of the GIA, specialised in making bombs with electronic
detonators. Benahmed was trained in al-Qa’eda training camps in Afghanistan
and Chechnya.
On 16 December 2002 French police raided an apartment in Romainville,
Paris and arrested three Algerians and one Moroccan who were members of
the La Corneuve cell. Canisters containing cyanide and butane were found, as
well as a protective suit, used when in contact with chemical and biological
weapons, propaganda material, fake identity and travel documents, instructions
on the production of cyanide and other toxic materials and videos on the jihad
in Chechnya. One of men arrested was Menad Benchellali, who had received
chemical as well as military training in Afghanistan and Chechnya and who
was known as an al-Qa’eda recruiter. Another was Belmehel Beddaidj, who
confirmed the connection with the La Corneuve cell, which planned to attack
Russian targets, more details of which became known after the arrest in January
2005 of Maamar Ouazane and two other Algerians. According to Ouazane,
the cells planned to attack the Russian Embassy in Paris, the Eiffel Tower, a
large department store and a police station (Vidino 2006:176-177;179).
At Trappes in September 2005, four men were arrested and charged with
targeting the metro at Orly airport outside Paris. They included the cell
leader, Safe Bourada, a French citizen of Algerian origin (Reuters 2007k).
In June 2006 a French court convicted 25 Islamist militants of planning terror
attacks in Paris and of recruiting fighters to send to Chechnya and Afghanistan.
Four ringleaders, who were either Algerians or of Algerian descent, received
jail sentences of between nine and ten years. Khaled Ouldali, identified
as one of the suspects, was a former member of FIS who had travelled to
Chechnya twice and fought under the command of Ibn ul-Khattab. Most of
the Algerians who participated in the conflict in Chechnya belonged to the
London network headed by Abu Doha (Vidino 2006:174).
The United Kingdom
The UK has been an attractive haven for extremists, even before 9/11. As
already indicated, Rachid Ramda, the financier of the 1995 Paris metro
attacks, had operated from the UK before being extradited to France in
2005. In addition to financing terrorism, Ramda had been actively involved
in publishing Al Ansar, the GIA’s official newsletter. Further Nadir Remli, the
former head of the GIA cell in London, was linked to Abu-Qatadah al-Falistini
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(a radical Palestinian-Jordanian cleric who stayed in the UK since the early
1990s after claming political asylum), while Abu-Hamza al-Misri used the
network in London to distribute Al Ansar and other GIA publications (Vidino
2006:138).
The alleged head of the GIA group in London, Nadir Remli (47), and Mohamed
Dnidni, who was believed to have been one of the main GIA officials in Great
Britain for five years, had been under investigation in France and Britain since
1994 when Dr Benali Sitayeb, a Briton of Algerian origin, Dr Abderhamane
Bihi, an Algerian, and three other Algerians, Rachid Messaoudi, Abdesallam
Bandaoud and Rachid Elgerbouzi, were interrogated for their suspected
involvement in the GIA in London (Reuters 1994c).
Despite a warning from Algeria, Remli had been given British citizenship
after being classified as a political refugee in 1991, having lived in Britain
since 1983 and being married to an Irish woman. He had subsequently been
one of the founders of the Algerian Community in Great Britain (ACB), an
NGO that acted as an extension of the FIS in Great Britain. During 1996,
Remli continued to hand out copies of at-Tabsirah or ‘The Enlightenment’, an
FIS newsletter, outside the Regent’s Park mosque (The Independent 1996).
In addition to distributing the newspaper, the GIA under the leadership of
Remli in London sold video material that included footage of the murders of
police and government officials. This was probably one of the first examples
of video material being sold to fund acts of terrorism in Algeria (AFP 1996).
In June 1999, Remli and Kanerdine Kherbane confirmed that the GIA and
El-Baqoun ala el ahd, or Faithful to the Pledge, had merged in 1998, using
the offices of the ACB as a cover for their activities (All Africa 1999). On 24
February 2005, Italian security forces arrested Remli at a Rome airport in the
company of his son. Wanted since 1992 by the Algerian authorities, Remli
was accused of supplying money to GIA groups in Algeria since 1992 by
setting up a bank account at an Arab bank in London. They were both on
an Algerian list of terrorists close to the al-Qa’eda network that was sent to
Interpol and the UN (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005i).
It was, however, Rashid Bukhalfa, alias Abu Doha, alias the Doctor, who
played an instrumental role in the GSPC’s transformation from a local armed
group to an international terrorist organisation. In charge of GSPC fund-raising
in London, Abu Doha, who had reached the rank of emir of an Afghanistan
training camp, was also responsible for recruiting fighters for Afghanistan,
Chechnya and Bosnia (Hafez 2007:204). By the end of the 1990s he had
extended his focus from Algeria to al-Qa’eda’s broader objectives. He was,
for example, in contact with al-Zarqawi and Ahmed Ressam (Joscelyn 2005).
Anneli Botha
135
He moved to the UK in 1999, where he helped to recruit GSPC members
from the large communities of disenfranchised Algerian youth in European
cities. From the beginning, Abu Doha cooperated with Seifallah Ben Hassine,
a Tunisian who also lived in London, who had also been an emir of a training
camp in Afghanistan and who had recruited Tunisians to fight in Algeria
(Vidino 2006:143;147) .
The Finsbury Park mosque played a central role in the activities of the
London network. The Algerian Afghans who had sought refuge in London
were looked after by the ACB, part of the Human Concern International
network, an Islamist NGO that had been blacklisted by the US Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Allegedly, individuals associated with the Algerian
Refugee Council, with links to the Finsbury Park mosque, also assisted in the
settling in of Algerian extremists in the UK. In March 2003, Dr Mohammed
Sekkoum, the chairman of the Council however revealed that a substantial
number of active ‘terrorists’ have slipped into the country with their families,
seeking asylum. When he informed the British immigration service about
them, the authorities told him that it had nothing to do with him (BBC News
2003). The Algerian network used the Finsbury Park mosque as its unofficial
headquarters, with radicals using the mosque’s basement in the mid 1990s
for planning attacks, forging documents and firearms training. During this
period Abu Doha began to establish the network with the assistance of Abu
Hamza and the religious teachings of Abu Qatadah. The mosque was also
used to show video material and to distribute the literature of various militant
groups. Despite warnings from North African and Middle Eastern countries,
these activities were largely ignored by the British authorities. While in
London in 1996, Yacine Aknouche, one of the militants sentenced for his
involvement in the Strasbourg plot, had been radicalised by Abu Qatadah’s
sermons at the Finsbury Park mosque before being recruited by Abu
Doha to go to Afghanistan. Imad Kanuni, a French-Moroccan detained in
Guantanamo Bay, had spent time at the Finsbury Park mosque after returning
from training camps in Afghanistan (Vidino 2006:187;189;190;191).
Further assisting Abu Doha to coordinate cells across Europe were Rabah
Kadre, Tarek Maaroufi, a Tunisian living in Brussels, and Mohammed
Bensakhria. Maaroufi and Bensakhria helped Doha to create a large support
network in Europe that provided recruits with money, accommodation and
forged documents. After being arrested on 26 December 2000 after raids
on al-Qa’eda cells in Milan and Frankfurt, Mohammed Bensakhria, alias
Muhammad Ben Aissa, alias Meliani, an Algerian who headed al-Qa’eda’s
Frankfurt cell, gave evidence of the use of GSPC members by al-Qa’eda
(Gunaratna 2002:173-174). Kadre, also implicated in the Strasbourg plot, was
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arrested in Britain where he was charged as the mastermind in the cyanide
plot against London’s underground. Abu Doha himself was arrested at
Heathrow airport, London, in 2000 when trying to leave for Saudi Arabia on
a false passport. While in British custody, Doha had extradition proceedings
brought against him by the US for the millennium plot, by Italy for the plot
to attack the US embassy in Rome, and by France and Germany for the
Strasbourg plot (Vidino 2006:157-158).
After 9/11, British security forces took official notice of activities they had
previously disregarded. In April 2003, in the first case linked to al-Qa’eda
in Britain, Baghdad Meziane and Brahim Benmerzouga, two Algerians,
were each jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of financing terrorism
(Reuters 2007l). Two years later, in April 2005, Kamel Bourgass (32),
alias Nadir Habra, another Algerian and suspected al-Qa’eda member,
was convicted of plotting to launch ricin and other chemical and bomb
attacks on London, as well as for the murder of Detective Stephen Oake
after Bourgass’s Manchester flat was raided in Manchester in 2004.
Bourgass, who was sentenced to 22 years for this murder, had spent time
in Afghanistan training camps (Winter 2007). In the same trial as Bourgass,
another Algerian, Mouhoud Sihali, was acquitted but was re-arrested
after the July 2005 bombings in London. He was then the subject of an
extradition application by Algeria (AFP 2007m).
After Spanish authorities had claimed that there were a number of links between
the bombers and militant figures based in Britain, London Police Commissioner
Sir John Stevens confirmed that a definite link had been established between
the Madrid bombers and al-Qa’eda sympathisers sheltering in Britain. While
it had previously been thought that the British connection was restricted to
financial and logistical help, the Spanish claims included an allegation that the
clerics at the Finsbury Park mosque had played a pivotal role in controlling
the bombers. In the months after the bombings, several links with London
emerged. Jamal Zougam (30), a Moroccan detained in Madrid and accused
of direct involvement in making the 13 bombs placed on commuter trains,
allegedly travelled to London on several occasions for logistical help and to
obtain forged documents for the al-Qa’eda cell in Spain.
Zougam and many of the other 18 suspects detained in Madrid, as well as
the seven dead, were either members of or were closely associated with the
GICM network in the UK. Abu Qatadah, previously referred to as one of
the spiritual leaders of the Finsbury Park mosque, was described by Spanish
authorities as al-Qa’eda’s spiritual adviser in Europe, whose followers formed
the command structure of al-Qa’eda in Spain. Until his release in 2005, he
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was held at Belmarsh prison in southeast London under emergency terror
legislation (Owen 2004).
Mohammed al-Guerbouzi (40), alias Abu Aissa El Meghribi, who was born
in Laraich, Morocco, was one of the first to be implicated in the London
bombings of 7 and 21 July 2005. Notwithstanding Morocco’s earlier attempts
in 2003 and 2004 to extradite Guerbouzi, the UK had not been able to assist
as no extradition treaty between the two countries had yet been finalised
(AFP 2005d). Although circumstances changed dramatically after the London
bombings, the UK was still not prepared to grant unqualified deportation.
Instead, it insisted (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005h) that:
•
Deportees should not be subjected to torture
•
Deportees should not be sentenced to death
•
The Moroccan government should guarantee that deportees would be
given a fair trial
If the Moroccan authorities accepted the British conditions, the signing of the
memorandum was due to have taken place in 2006.
Guerbouzi had been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in absentia by
a court in Rabat on 19 December 2003 for his alleged involvement in the
Casablanca bombings. Evidence presented to a Moroccan court claimed that
he had helped the Casablanca bombers to obtain false passports and money.
A report by the Moroccan attorney-general’s office following its international
arrest warrant claimed that Guerbouzi had been involved in the following
activities (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005g):
•
He was in charge of studying the social, political and economic situation
in Morocco, and of collecting money for the GICM
•
He was providing forged documents, including passports, for members
of the GICM
•
He had relations with the Libyan counterpart of the GICM, and in
addition to being a part of the jihad in Morocco he had travelled to Spain
with Noureddine Nafia to recruit new members
•
He was appointed deputy emir and consultant for the CIGM in June 2001
and also head of the committee charged with collecting resources for the
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group. He and the other members of the group were instructed by AbuMus’ab on the start of an Islamic revolution in Morocco and on how to
avoid the Moroccan authorities
•
His last meeting with Osama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri had been
in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was given bin Ladin’s blessing and
assurance that all logistical and financial means must be made available
for the achievement of his mission
•
A British resident for 16 years, Guerbouzi was also accused of having
links with prominent terrorists (The Press Trust of India Limited 2005),
including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Finsbury Park mosque’s Abu
Qatada who was one of the detainees released from Belmarsh prison in
March 2005, and Jamal Zougham who was alleged to have called landline
and mobile telephone numbers in London belonging to Gerbouzi
The British Home Office revealed in 2004 that eight of the ten people then
detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, which is
monitored by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, were Algerians
(Steele 2004):
•
‘A’ (37) came to Britain in 1989 to study and later took part in a marriage
of convenience. He had claimed asylum but disappeared before his
claim was rejected. He was alleged to have used credit card fraud to
support North African terrorists
•
‘B’ (33) appeared in Britain in 1994. He allegedly belonged to an Algerian
terror group, procuring communication equipment and other support for
extremists in Chechnya and Algeria
•
‘G’ was an active supporter of the GSPC, which was then sponsoring
young Muslims in Britain to go to Afghanistan to train for jihad. Because
of mental health problems, ‘G’ had been granted bail
•
‘H’ came to Britain in 1993. He claimed asylum and was allowed to stay as
a refugee. Later, he ‘expressed bewilderment’ that he should be considered
a security risk. He was also said to be an active supporter of the GSPC
•
Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh (32) came to Britain as an asylumseeker in 1995. Since July 2002 he had been held in Broadmoor highsecurity hospital because he had ‘real difficulties in handling stress’ and
found it necessary ‘to spend time on his own in the dark’. He was alleged
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to be an active supporter of terrorist groups, including those with links to
bin Laden’s network. His activities were said to include fund-raising. He
claimed only to have been involved in welfare and charity work
•
‘P’ arrived in Britain in February 1999. His left arm has been amputated
at the wrist and the right just below the elbow. He was refused asylum. In
February 2001, he was charged with possession of articles for suspected
terrorist purposes, conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to make false
documents. The charges had been dropped and he had been released
in May 2001. Since then he was alleged to be an associate of Algerian
extremists engaged in active support for various international terrorist
groups, including those associated with bin Laden. He was said to have
supported at least two terrorist cells planning chemical and biological
attacks in the UK
•
‘I’ appeared in the UK in 1995 to claim asylum. He allegedly undertook
‘a range of support activities including fund-raising on behalf of terrorist
groups, including networks associated with bin Laden’
•
‘S’ arrived in the UK from Pakistan in November 1998 on a forged
Belgian passport. He claimed asylum. He was allegedly ‘a member of a
group of Mujahideen engaged in active support for various international
terrorist groups’
•
‘U’ was arrested in February 2001 on suspicion of being involved in
planning attacks on Los Angeles airport and the Christmas market in
Strasbourg, France. According to security forces, ‘U’ first came to the
UK in 1994, after spending time in a Mujahideen training camp in
Afghanistan (AP 2007j)
•
‘K’, an asylum seeker who was part of Abu Doha’s network, formed part
of the London network’s financial and logistical support base. He was
arrested in July 2001 while trying to enter Pankisi Gorge on his way to
Chechnya on a French passport. He had in his possession the telephone
numbers of Kadre and other senior GSPC members. As part of the ricin
plot, ‘K’ stayed in the basement of Finsbury Park mosque between 1999
and 2000 (Vidino 2006:180)
•
‘E’ was an alleged member of the FIT
On 24 August 2005, Atamnia Yacine, an Algerian wanted by Britain in
connection with the July bombings in London, was arrested in the Sukhumvit
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Soi Nana area in Bangkok, Thailand. He was in possession of 180 fake
French and Spanish passports and was believed to have provided false
travel documents to the bomb suspects (BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific 2005).
The EU had previously named Thailand as a hub for document forgery. On
3 August 2005, Mahieddine Daikh (35), a UK citizen of Algerian origin,
had been arrested in Bangkok for trying to smuggle more than 450 forged
European passports from Thailand to Scotland (AFP 2005e).
In July 2007, Younes Tsouli, a Moroccan, British-born Waseem Mughal and
Jordanian-born Tariq al-Daour were sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison
for inciting terrorism over the internet in the first case of its kind in Britain.
Tsouli (23) had set up a site to host video files and other documentation
that had eventually became the de facto administrator of the online jihadist
forum Muntada al-Ansar al-Islami, at one time the main internet public
relations mouthpiece of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Waseem Mughal (24), a law
student, was found with a computer containing a 26-minute video in Arabic
containing instructions for making suicide-bomb vests and home-made
explosives. Tariq al-Daour (21), a biochemistry student, was charged with
using computer viruses and stolen credit card accounts to set up a network of
communications forums and websites inciting violence (Krebs 2007).
Spain
An estimated 300 suspected extremists were arrested in Spain following the
9/11 attacks in the US. Many of them had been on North African wanted
lists since moving to Europe in the 1990s to establish networks in European
countries, including Spain. Since 9/11 and, later, the Madrid bombings of
2003, European countries acknowledged that many extremists had abused
the liberal democracies and their almost open-arms policy towards political
asylum seekers. Nonetheless Spanish police arrested seven GIA members in
Valencia in April 1997 (Gunaratna 2002:165).
Investigations after 9/11 led to a number of arrests, convictions and
deportations. Among those that received attention was a member of the
Hofstad network, Muhammad Achraf, an Algerian who headed a group in
Spain called ‘Martyrs for Morocco’, who was in contact with Mohammed
Bouyer, who had been prosecuted in the Netherlands for the murder of Theo
Van Gogh. In addition to procuring funds for the Hofstad group, Achraf was
wanted by Spanish police for his part in an October 2004 plot to attack the
country’s national court, which was the headquarters of the Madrid bombing
investigations (Atwan 2006:239-240).
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As already mentioned, Algerians returning to France from Chechnya preferred
to travel via Spain, which had a strong GSPC base. In addition to Merouane
Benahmed, who used this route in 2002, Noureddine Merabet was arrested
on the Franco-Spanish border on 21 December 2002 on his way to France
(Vidino 2006:177). In April 2004 a Spanish judge charged four Algerian
members of the GSPC with membership of al-Qa’eda (AFP 2004d). The
four had worked in support of the French cell led by Benahmed, who was
arrested in December 2002, and had received training in Afghanistan from
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. A mobile phone detonator, similar to those used
in the Bali nightclub and Madrid train bombing attacks, was found in their
possession (Reuters 2004b).
In July 2004 Morocco warned Spain that it had lost track of 400 of the
600 Moroccan Islamist militants who had trained in al-Qa’eda camps in
Afghanistan, Bosnia or Chechnya (Reuters 2004c). However, a Spanish report
of 17 December 2004 indicated that police had arrested four Moroccans
on suspicion of belonging to an armed Islamist group, including one man
believed to be linked to the 11 March train bombings that killed and
injured 191 people. The arrests took place on the Spanish Canary Island of
Lanzarote, off the coast of Morocco. All four were suspected of belonging
to the GICM. The leader was identified as Hassan El Haski (41), who had
been the subject of an arrest warrant for the Madrid bombings. He was also
suspected of being behind the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh
on 2 November 2004 in Amsterdam (AFP 2004e). The others ranged in age
from 31 to 40 years and one was described as an imam in a Spanish mosque.
Their homes were being searched. The four were suspected of attempting to
establish a logistical base on Lanzarote (Reuters 2004d).
On 27 December 2004 a Madrid judge also charged three Moroccans with
belonging to a radical cell that planned to buy explosives for a terrorist attack
in Spain or Morocco. Majid Bakkali, Mohamed Douha and Mustafa Farhaoui
were charged with being members of a terrorist group and conspiracy to
buy explosives. Bakkali and Douha were arrested in northeast Spain on 22
December, while Farhaoui was picked up three days later. Police had begun
watching the group in September when they made contact with a suspected
intermediary in an unspecified central European country for the purchase of
explosives (Dow Jones International News 2004d).
On 3 January 2006, Spanish authorities arrested Mohammed Aberrada
(20), a Moroccan, on an international arrest warrant issued by Morocco on
suspicion of belonging to the GSPC. Mohamed Larbi Ben Sellam, another
Moroccan suspected of aiding the Iraq insurgency, was also in custody, and
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in May 2006 the Spanish parliament agreed to extradite both Aberrada and
Sellam to Morocco (AFP 2006c).
On another international arrest warrant, Spanish authorities arrested Mbark el
Jaafari in early February 2007 in Reus. Government sources said that el Jaafari
was suspected of having received training in Afghanistan and of belonging to
a terrorist structure in the service of al-Qa’eda and to the GSPC, which were
dedicated to the recruitment of volunteers for the holy war in Morocco, Iraq
and Algeria. The sources said that this terrorist structure was believed to
have planned over a period of nine months to send 32 suicide bombers to
carry out suicide attacks in Iraq and to plan operations inside Morocco after
receiving training in GSPC training camps (AFP 2007n).
On 9 February 2007 a court in Madrid sentenced five Algerian members of a
group of 16 Algerians and Moroccans who had been arrested in Barcelona in
January 2003 to 13 years’ imprisonment. The five were Mohamed Tahraoui,
Ali Kouka, Smail Boudjelthi, Souhil Kouka and Mohamed Amine Benoura.
A sixth, Mohammed Nebbar, was found not guilty. According to the court,
three of the five had formed a militant cell in the late 1990s after they had left
Algeria. ‘The cell, which had contact with other suspected Islamist radicals
in Britain, France and Germany, was believed to have worked to spread
extremist Islamist propaganda, to recruit followers among Muslims in Spain,
and to organise safe houses for combatants on the run and storage points for
material needed to carry out the attacks’ (AP 2007k).
Mohammed Laksir and Miftah Idrissi, two Moroccans suspected of being
members of the Islamic Party of Liberation, were arrested in Barcelona on
26 June 2007 on suspicion of planning to travel to Iraq to participate in
the insurgency. Instead of standing trial in Spain, the Spanish government
approved the extradition of the two suspects to Morocco in October 2007
(AFP 2007o).
Casablanca and Madrid bombings
The involvement of North African countries in the Madrid bombings was
confirmed when the two Moroccan Beniyach brothers wanted for the 11
March attacks were identified as being among the suspects who blew
themselves up during a police raid in early April 2004. Of the seven bodies
found in the rubble of an apartment building, only four had been officially
identified, including suspected mastermind Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet,
alias the Tunisian, and alleged logistics chief Jamal Ahmidan, a Moroccan.
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Fakhet, who had moved to Spain in 1996 and who was believed to be the
group’s spiritual leader, also recruited young new members at his mosque.
Ahmidan, a Moroccan, was a drug dealer and cleric who had used drug
money to buy dynamite. Jailed in Morocco in 2000 for murder, Ahmidan was
allegedly radicalised during his imprisonment (The Guardian 2007). Another
suspect, Salahuddin Beniyach, a Moroccan who had fought in Chechnya in
the Khattab Brigade, served as an example of the role of former Chechnyan
fighters in the cell (Vidino 2006:208).
Of 18 Madrid bombing suspects in custody, 14 were Moroccans. According
to a report, the GICM had sleeper cells in Britain, Belgium, France, Italy and
Canada. After Noureddine Nfia, its leader, had been arrested, Taeb Ben Tizi
had been appointed the new leader, with Mohamed Guerbouzi his deputy.
Contact with al-Qa’eda was established in July 2000 when Nfia met Ayman
al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri, the leader of the original Egyptbased Jamaat al-Jihad al-Islami, was known to have been Osama bin Laden’s
second in command (AFP 2004f).
In follow-up operations, police arrested five people believed to have helped
three suspects to escape from Morocco after the 2004 bombings. The three
who escaped were Mohamed Afalah, who died in a subsequent suicide
attack in Iraq in May 2005, and Mohamed Belhaj and Daoud Ouhnane, who
were believed to have joined foreign fighters in Iraq. The five arrested were
Zohaib Khadiri, Djilali Boussiri, Nasreddine Ben Laid Amrii, Taha Seghrouchni
and Kamal Ahbar (Dow Jones International News 2007j). During the arrest
police seized false documents, receipts for telephone calls to Afghanistan,
cash and three computers (Reuters 2007m). Samir Tahtah, who was also
part of the network, was subsequently imprisoned after being convicted of
belonging to a Syrian-based network recruiting suicide bombers to attack US
troops in Iraq.
A second group, Salafia Jihadia, was implicated in both the Madrid and the
Casablanca bombings. The GICM is believed to have been the forerunner of
Salafia Jihadia, which was the first radical Islamist movement in Morocco.
According to the US State Department, the GICM, which was formed in the
late 1990s, included Moroccans trained in Afghanistan.
Three of the suspects detained after the Madrid bombings were reported
to be Moroccans, including alleged al-Qa’eda member Jamal Zougam (30),
who left Morocco three weeks after the Casablanca suicide attacks. Zougam,
who was arrested two days after the bombings, was believed to have been
a link between the GICM – blamed for the bombings in Casablanca – and a
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Spanish al-Qa’eda cell, especially since Zougam met Guerbouzi, a leader of
the GICM based in the UK, prior to the attack. Zougam was also understood
to have been acquainted with the man assumed to have headed the former
al-Qa’eda cell in Spain, Imadeddin Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah (Wright
2004).
Nationals from other North African countries implicated in initial investigations
after the Madrid bombings included (Johnson 2005):
•
Abdel Karim Mejjati (34), a Moroccan who was killed by Saudi Arabia
security officials in a shoot-out in 2005. Mejjati played a leading role
in the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca. Contrary to the perception
that only young people from poor socio-economic backgrounds are
susceptible to extremism, Mejjati came from a privileged background
and attended an exclusive French school in Morocco before turning to
terrorism (Haven 2006)
•
Amer el Azisi, a Moroccan and one of the alleged leaders of the GICM,
was suspected to have been one of the masterminds of the Madrid
bombings. Azisi, who was also an al-Qa’eda recruiter, was trained in
Afghanistan and Bosnia in the late 1990s. He headed operations for the
GICM with Abdel Karim Mejjati and Saad Houssaini, both of whom
were suspected of having been involved in the Madrid and Casablanca
bombings (Haven 2004)
•
Hassan el-Haski, a Moroccan veteran of Afghan training camps, was
arrested in December 2004 in the Canary Islands with Abdallah Mourib
and Brahim Atia El Hammouchi. According to a Spanish court, documents
based on Belgian and French intelligence indicated that el-Haski was a
senior operative in the GICM. After the group was partly dismantled by
police in Spain and Belgium in the spring of 2004, el-Haski allegedly led
an effort to revive it (AFP 2004a). GICM supporters told French police
in late 2004 that according to el-Haski the group carried out the Madrid
attacks. El-Haski also shared an apartment with Mourib, an imam at the
mosque in the Lanzarote town of Puerto del Carmen. A former head
of the GICM, Nafia in turn told Spanish authorities in 2003 that other
members of el-Haski’s family were allegedly involved in the group.
Investigators also searched for information on one of his brothers, Mehdi
el-Haski, formerly a top security official inside the GICM, who went
missing. Another brother, Lahoussine el-Haski, was arrested in Belgium
in 2004 after having sought political asylum. Lahoussine el-Haski was
also believed to have been an associate of Abdeladim Akoudad, the
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Moroccan jailed for heading a militant cell and also believed responsible
for the killing of Theo van Gogh (Prades 2004)
Another of the suspected radicals, Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, alias Abu
Musab, had settled in Madrid in the 1980s before (according to Spanish court
documents) moving to London in 1995 where he edited the internal magazine
of the GIA. He left London in about 1998, apparently for Afghanistan. Spanish
police believe that he may have played a role in the Madrid bombings. He
briefly resurfaced on an Islamist website in June 2005 with a call to arms to
Muslim youth to join the jihad in Iraq (Johnson and Vitzthum 2001).
On 1 February 2005, Spain’s interior minister announced that security forces
had arrested four members of the same Moroccan family who had been
directly linked to the Madrid bombings. They were husband and wife Allal
Moussaten (43) and Safia Belhaj (42) and their sons Brahim and Mohamed
Moussaten. The four were believed to have had links with the GICM. They
were arrested in the Madrid suburb of Leganes following police operations in
Belgium, France and Spain (AFP 2005f).
Later, in December 2006, and with the agreement of the Moroccan government,
Spanish authorities went to Morocco to interrogate several Moroccans suspected
of being involved in the Madrid bombings. They were Khaled Isik, Mohamed
Haddad, Hicham Hmidane, Abdelilah Ahriz and Mustapha Mimouni. Mimouni,
who was serving a 15-year sentence in Tangiers, knew Abdelmajid Sarhane
who was married to Mimouni’s sister. Spanish authorities found a handwritten
note and fingerprints in an apartment in Leganes, Madrid, that was blown up
after the Madrid attack (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006m).
The following individuals from North Africa were indicted on 15 February
2007 for their involvement in the 2004 Madrid bombings (AFP 2007p).
•
Rabei Ousmane Sayed Ahmed (37). Egyptian. Accused of being a plot
organiser. Acquitted
•
Hassan El Haski (44), alias Abu Hamza. Moroccan. Accused of being a
plot organiser and alleged leader of the GICM in Spain was arrested on
the Canary Islands in December 2004. Acquitted on the main charge but
convicted of belonging to a terrorist organisation and sentenced to 15
years in prison (Hamilos 2007)
•
Youssef Belhaj (32), alias the Afghan. Moroccan. He was arrested in
Belgium in February 2005. Accused of being a plot organiser. Acquitted
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on the main charge but convicted of belonging to a terrorist organisation
and sentenced to 12 years in prison (Hamilos 2007)
•
Jamal Zougam (34). Moroccan. Suspected bomber. Accused of placing
at least one of the rucksack bombs on the train. Found guilty of murder
and attempted murder and sentenced to 42,922 years in prison. Zougam,
who ran a mobile phone shop in Madrid, supplied most of the mobile
phones used to set off the explosive devices. A fingerprint on a SIM card
in an unexploded bomb connected Zougam to the bombs and the attack
(The Guardian 2007)
•
Abdelmajid Bouchar (25). Moroccan. Suspected bomber was present
in the apartment in Leganés on 3 April 2004 before the police raid
but managed to escape. He was later arrested in Belgrade in 2005 and
extradited to Spain. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Fouad El-Morabit El-Amghar (24). Moroccan. Accused of belonging to a
terrorist organisation and who also had contact with Rabei Osman. He
was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Othman El-Gnaoui (23). Moroccan. Alleged to have been the right-hand man
of Ahmidan. Accused of belonging to a terrorist organisation and procuring
and transporting explosives. Found guilty of murder and attempted murder
and sentenced to 42,924 years in prison (The Guardian 2007)
•
Abdelilah El-Fadoaul El-Akil (38). Moroccan. Accused of belonging to a
terrorist organisation (linked to a house on the outskirts of Madrid where
the explosive devices were built). He was sentenced to nine years in
prison (AP 2007m)
•
Rachid Aglif (28), Jamal Ahmidan’s right-hand man. Moroccan. Accused
of belonging to a terrorist organisation, actively taking part in the
negotiations in getting the explosives as well as transporting explosives.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Mohamed Bouharrat (28). Moroccan. Accused of belonging to a terrorist
organisation responsible for recruiting new members and gathering
intelligence on possible targets and transporting explosives. He was
sentenced to 12 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Saed El-Harrak (35). Moroccan. Accused of belonging to a terrorist
organisation was sentenced to 12 years in prison (AP 2007m)
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•
Mohamed Larbi Ben Sellam (30). Moroccan. Accused of belonging to a
terrorist organisation and conspiring to commit murder was sentenced to
12 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Rafa Zouhier (28). Moroccan. Accused of collaborating with a terrorist
organisation and transporting explosives was sentenced to 10 years in
prison (AP 2007m)
•
Hamid Ahmidan (30) cousin of Jamal Ahmidan. Moroccan. Accused
of collaborating with a terrorist organisation and drug trafficking was
sentenced to 23 years in prison (AP 2007m)
•
Mohamed Moussaten (23). Moroccan. Accused of collaborating with a
terrorist organisation in assisting suspects involved in the attacks to leave
Spain after the attacks. Acquitted (AP 2007m)
•
Brahim Moussaten (24), the brother of Mohamed Moussaten. Moroccan.
Accused of collaborating with a terrorist organisation. Acquitted (EFE
News Service 2007)
•
Nasreddine Bousbaa (46). Algerian. Accused of collaborating with a
terrorist organisation and falsifying documents was sentenced to three
years in prison (AP 2007m)
Iraq recruitment and training
Links between Morocco and Spain were not limited to groups planning and
executing acts of terrorism in Morocco and Spain. For example, after Spanish
police had arrested Mbark el-Jaffari, a Moroccan, in Reus in 2007, he was
charged with recruiting GSPC members to conduct operations in Morocco,
Algeria and Iraq. At the time, the Spanish interior minister commented: ‘This
terrorist structure is believed to have made moves to send, since May last
year, 32 suicide bombers, after being trained in Algerian training camps, to
carry out suicide attacks in Iraq and to plan operations inside Morocco’ (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007q).
El-Jaffari was, however, not the first such person arrested. In June 2005, for
example, Spanish authorities arrested 20 people across Spain, suspected
of belonging to cells recruiting volunteers to be sent to Iraq. They included
15 Moroccans, three Spaniards, an Algerian and a Turk. Larbi Ben Sellam,
the Algerian, was believed to have organised the flight from Spain of
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suspected bombers Mohamed Afalah, Mohamed Belhaj and probably
Daoud Ohnane.
Later, in January 2006, Spanish police announced that they had arrested
Omar Nakcha (23), a Moroccan whom they suspected of being the leader of
two cells recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq. Nakcha was also believed to
have helped suspects in the March 2004 Madrid train bombings to flee the
country. He was arrested near Santa Coloma de Gramanet in the Catalonia
region of northeast Spain. Nakcha also organised the movement of suspects
from Belgium to Iraq via Syria. In addition he also supplied fighters to the
leader of an al-Qa’eda cell in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and had ties
with the GICM and the GSPC. His cell was allegedly also in touch with
sympathisers in Algeria, Belgium, France, Iraq, Morocco, the Netherlands,
Syria and Turkey. The cell was also implicated in an attack in November
2003 on a military base in Iraq, carried out by an unidentified Algerian and
killing or injuring 28 people, including 19 Italian soldiers. This attack was
claimed by al-Qa’eda (AFP 2006d), confirming the complexity of networks
and operations between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
In June 2007, Spanish security forces dismantled a cell of Moroccan nationals
linked to GSPC/AQLIM and charged with recruiting extremists with the aim
of sending them to training camps in the Sahel. Included were Mohamed
Lachgar (23), Moulay Lahsene Drissi (27) and Mohamed Agzin (32) (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007dk). Abdellatif Zehraoui (29) was arrested near
Barcelona (AFP 2007r), while the Spanish authorities arrested six people
in Burgos in October 2007 for recruiting Islamist militants to fight in the
insurgency in Iraq. Abdelkader Ayachine, an Algerian who allegedly led this
cell, ran a Muslim butchery in Burgos. Other members were identified as
Mohamed Mouas, Smaine Kadouci and Yahia Drif from Algeria, and Wissan
Lotfi and Fatima Zahrae Raissouni from Morocco. Members of the group
called themselves Los Ansar, in an apparent reference to Ansar al-Islam in
Iraq (Woolls 2007). According to the Spanish authorities, the suspects had
used internet chat rooms to recruit militants – the first such example in Spain
– as well as to distribute audiovisual material and other terrorist propaganda
and to raise funds for jailed terrorists. Spanish security forces made a number
of other arrests, and these cases will be discussed in the section on Iraq.
One group that increasingly raised the concern of Spanish security forces was
Tanzim Tahrir al-Andalus, or the Andulusia Liberation Organisation. Headed
by Nadim al-Maghrebi, it has since its formation in 2004 called for jihad
against Spain, particularly the liberation of Ceuta and Melilla (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007dl). Al-Qa’eda, through Ayman al-Zawahiri, also began to
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refer to Spain as al-Andalus (Indo-Asian News Service 2007). In addition to
direct al-Qa’eda threats against Ceuta and Melilla, Algerian members of GSPC/
AQLIM using the pseudonym of Nadim al Magrebi left a message in May
2006 on alansar, a website with links to al-Qa’eda, calling for ‘war against the
Spanish state to liberate the occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla’ (Irujo 2006).
These developments, the Madrid bombings and the fact that 300 Islamists
were arrested since the Madrid bombings, fuelled perceptions that Spain was
increasingly being threatened by extremism and terrorism involving networks
headed by or in contact with individuals from North Africa.
Belgium
In recent years Belgium has served as a secondary base for North African
Islamist extremists involved in counterfeiting, financing and providing safe
havens. Although Belgium had not yet been the target of transnational
terrorism, the presence in the country of networks including individuals from
North Africa in Europe has been a cause for concern.
A high-profile terrorist trial in September 2003 ended with guilty verdicts
against 18 people who had been charged with forging passports and visas
for volunteers to travel to Afghanistan. These volunteers included Abdelsatar
Dahmane and Rashid El Ouar, who assassinated Afghan resistance leader
Ahmad Shah Masood two days before the 9/11 attacks in the US. Tarek
Maaroufi, a Tunisian and leader of the Brussels cell, assisted Abu Doha in the
UK to create a large support network in Europe to provide recruits with money,
accommodation and false documents. As early as 1991, Maaroufi confessed
to Belgian authorities that he was in contact with Rachid Ramda and other
Algerian leaders based in London. He was convicted and sentenced to six
years’ imprisonment on a charge of recruiting Muslims in European countries
to attend al-Qa’eda training camps in Afghanistan (Vidino 2006:159).
On 19 March 2004, as part of a series of some 20 raids in Brussels, Antwerp
and other Belgian centres, anti-terrorist police arrested a suspect wanted for
the terrorist attacks in Casablanca in 2003 and at least five other people. This
followed a probe into alleged Islamist militants from North Africa who had
undergone paramilitary training in camps in Afghanistan (Siuberski 2004).
On 29 August 2005, 18 men suspected of belonging to the GICM appeared
before a court in Belgium. The men, most of them Moroccans, were suspected
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of having links with those responsible for the March 2004 train bombings in
Madrid and the May 2003 Casablanca attacks. They included:
•
Khalid Bouloudo, the alleged Belgian coordinator of the GICM
•
Abdelkader Hakimi, who was linked to the Madrid attacks
•
Mourad Chabarou, who was alleged to have sheltered Mohammed
Afalah, a suspect in the Madrid attacks. Police say his Brussels apartment
contained fingerprints belonging to Afalah
These three men were also alleged to have been in contact with the Dutch
branch of the GICM, the Hofstad group, in particular with Mohammed
Bouyeri. Seven were held in preventive detention in Belgium, three in Spain,
one in Morocco and one in Syria. The suspects were arrested in three
operations, the first in March 2004 at Maaseik on the Belgian-Dutch border
and the second and third in Brussels and Antwerp in June 2004. They were
accused of being members of a terrorist group and of offences including use
of forged documents and illegal residence, but, according to Belgian media,
not for crimes directly linked to the Madrid and Casablanca bombings (AFP
2005g).
In February 2006, following the bombings in Madrid and Casablanca, a
court in Belgium convicted three men of belonging to the GICM. Eight
others were found guilty on lesser charges, and two were acquitted.
Abdelkader Hakimi (40), was accused of heading a cell linked to the
GICM, and Khalid Bouloudou (30) was identified as the group’s Belgian
coordinator as well as fundraiser and recruiter. Those arrested in Belgium
formed part of a larger network of 18 accused, of whom 13 stood trial
in Brussels. Three others were in custody in Spain before being tried
and convicted by a Brussels court on 20 January 2007. They included
el-Haski (see above), who was sentenced to seven years, Hakimi and
Bouloudou, who were each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, and
Mustafa Lounani, who was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Another
Moroccan, Mourad Chabarou (25), received a five-year sentence as a
contact of Rabei Osman El Sayed, who had been involved in the Madrid
bombings (EFE News Services 2006a).
In addition to the implications for Belgium of attacks in Afghanistan, Madrid,
Casablanca and the Netherlands, a Belgium-Spanish network involved in the
recruitment of fighters for Iraq will be discussed in the section dealing with
African involvement in Iraq.
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Italy
Following developments since 2000, Italian security forces monitored the
activities of a group of Tunisians in contact with Algerians and Tunisians in
London. Essid Sami Ben Khemais, alias Abu al-Muhajer (Tunisian national), the
head of the cell and an Afghan veteran, operated from Milan. Although the
cell was not directly implicated in an attack it played a supportive role to other
European cells in providing safe havens and false documents (Vidino 2006:158159). Ben Khemais was later suspected of planning an attack on the US
Embassy in Rome in January 2001. As one of four Tunisian nationals convicted
of association with intent to obtain and transport explosives and chemicals, he
was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Back in Tunisia, Ben Khemais had
already been tried in absentia and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a
military court that found him ‘guilty of membership of a terrorist organisation
operating overseas’. (BBC News, 2002). Ben Khemais was also implicated in
the 2006/7 attacks in Tunisia (discussed in chapter 2).
The Milan network was also particularly active in recruiting suicide bombers
for Iraq. Members included Lofti Rihani, Morchidi Kamal, Hamsi Said and
Yousfi Ben Tikani, and their case will also be discussed later in the chapter.
Ansar al-Islam, based in Italy, was also connected to Germany through
Abdderrazak Mahdjoub, who headed a network in Hamburg. A member
of an Ansar al-Islam recruitment network in Milan, Mohammed Daki, a
Moroccan, provided passports to Maxamed Cabdullah Ciise to travel to Iraq
(Vidino 2006:267).
In addition to being implicated in support operations, members of a cell that
planned to bomb the US Embassy in Rome were arrested by Italian security
forces on 4 April 2000. In accordance with US executive order 13224 of 22
November 2002, three members of the cell were accused and prosecuted
in Italy for being members of a extremist Islamist terrorist organisation
established in Cremona, Italy, in 1998 with the aim of committing terrorist
attacks in Italy, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries, and having contact
with al-Qa’eda and Ansar al-Islam cells in Italy and elsewhere. Additionally,
the group had ties to the GICM in Morocco. The Cremona cell was charged
with recruiting combatants, raising funds for terrorist activities and planning
terrorist attacks. The three were (US Federal News 2005):
•
Ahmed El Bouhali (44), a Moroccan, who was charged with participating
in a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist activities. He had formed the
Cremona cell in 1998 and headed it until the summer of 2001. Investigators
confiscated instruction manuals in his possession on paramilitary activities
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
including the construction of weapons, bombs and instruments for
detecting government communications. In addition, leaflets on clandestine
Islamist organisations and videotapes containing bin Laden’s and other
terrorist leaders’ messages inciting violence were found. These materials
were used by el Bouhali to recruit people for terrorist activities in Iraq
•
Faycal (alias Faical) Boughanemi (41), a Tunisian, who was charged with
participating in a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist activities. He
was a member of the Cremona cell from at least 2002 until 2004, where
he helped to plan and recruit individuals for terrorist attacks in Tunisia.
In addition, he conspired to carry out terrorist attacks on the Cremona
cathedral and the Milan metro
•
Abdelkader Laagoub (32), a Moroccan, who was charged with
participating in a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist activities. He
had helped form the Cremona cell in 1998, and succeeded el Bouhali as
its head until February 2004
Italian investigators into organised crime and money laundering uncovered
the Milan cell in 2003. This was also aligned to the GSPC. Its members
included El Mahfoudi Mohamed, a Moroccan-born imam based at the
Gallarate mosque, north of Milan, Abdooui Iyousef, its leader, and Ramzi bin
al-Shaibah, alias Ramzi Binalshibh, who had earlier been arrested in Pakistan
in 2002 on suspicion of providing logistical assistance to the 9/11 terror plot.
Charges included providing financial and logistical support to Islamist terrorist
networks, trafficking in illegal immigrants, receiving counterfeit documents
and trafficking in stolen cars. In addition to providing logistical support, the
cell also recruited members of the immigrant communities to be sent abroad
for military training (Parodi 2003).
In July 2005 Othman Deramchi (51), alias Abu Yusef, a member of the GSPC,
was arrested in Marseilles in a joint operation by members of the French and
Italian security forces after Italy had issued a Europe-wide warrant for his
arrest. Deramchi was wanted by the Italian authorities after he had been
sentenced in absentia to eight years’ imprisonment on charges of trafficking
false identity documents in connection with terrorist activities (AFP 2005h).
Other cases that attracted the attention of Italian authorities included the
following (Dow Jones International News 2005a):
•
On 6 September 2005 Bourki Bouchta was arrested at his home in Turin
and was deported to Morocco in terms of new security measures that
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had been approved in July and which simplified the process of deporting
people suspected of having links with groups deemed terrorist by the
government
•
Previously, in 2003, Italy had deported Imam Abdul Qadir Fall Mamour
to his native Senegal after he came out in favour of attacks on Italians in
Afghanistan and Iraq as allies of the US. At the time, Bourki Bouchta (see
above) had spoken out strongly against the expulsion of Mamour, saying
that the government had punished the preacher for his opinions. Bouchta
had first made headlines in Italy in 1999 when he had led thousands of
Muslims in Turin in a march to demand that women be allowed to wear
veils in identity document photographs
•
On 24 March 2006, Italian security forces arrested eight Moroccans and
a Tunisian for allegedly planning an attack on the San Petronio church
in Bologna and the Milan metro. Mohamed Benhedi Msahel (37), a
Moroccan and a resident of Milan, was believed to be the leader of this
group (BBC Monitoring Europe 2006)
•
In October 2006, a Milan court charged three Tunisians with joining
a criminal organisation with the intention of committing a terrorist act.
Samir Sassi and Sharif Bin-Abd-al-Hakim were sentenced to six years’
imprisonment each, while Muhammad Manna was given a 64-month
sentence. The three men were accused of forming a group connected to
Ansar al-Islam that was planning to attack the same two targets as in the
previous example (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dm)
•
Extremist activities linked to Bologna had been suspected as early as
1993, when Italian police had intercepted a letter written by Mondher
Ben Mohsen Baazaoui, alias Hamza the Tunisian. Baazaoui, a member
of an-Nahda, was also a Bosnian Mujahideen. His letter had been
written to Imam Mohamed Saidani in Bologna, who in turn knew Anwar
Shaaban, a member of the European Shura Council, and Osama bin
Laden (Kohlmann 2004:76)
•
On 8 February 2007 a court in Tunis sentenced seven Tunisians – most of
whom had been extradited from Italy – to between five and eight years’
imprisonment for belonging to Ahl al-Sunna wal Gama’a. The principal
defendent was Mehdi Kammoun, who was believed to have visited
Afghanistan before serving a jail sentence in Italy for allegedly leading
a terrorist cell in Milan. Kammoun was also convicted on charges of
conspiracy to traffic in arms, explosives and chemical weapons, receiving
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
stolen goods, making and using forged documents, and facilitating illegal
immigration to Italy (US Department of the Treasury 2002)
•
The dismantling of the Perugia, or Ponte Felcino, cell in July 2007 kept the
spotlight on the activities of foreign Muslim communities in Italy. Three
Moroccans – Korchi el-Mostapha (41), an imam of the Ponte Felcino
mosque, and his two aides, Mohamed el-Jari (47) and Driss Safika (46) – were
arrested on suspicion of providing training in explosives. Police confiscated
computer files that included videos and documents downloaded from the
internet on weapons training and instructions on how to prepare poisons and
explosives, how to fly a Boeing 747 and how to encrypt messages. These
were claimed to have been used to recruit new followers to jihad. According
to the investigators, the suspects were in contact with members of the GICM
who had been arrested in Belgium in 2005 (Kiefer 2007). El-Mostapha was
also alleged to have been in contact with Abdelaziz Ouechtati, a Tunisian
living in Naples (BBC Monitoring Europe 2007a)
•
As a consequence of the dismantling of the Perugia cell, security forces
in Italy, France, Portugal and the UK made further arrests of 17 Algerians,
one Tunisian and two others in early November 2007 on suspicion of
being involved in the recruitment of suicide bombers for Afghanistan
and Iraq. Among those arrested in operations in Italian centres including
Milan, Bergamo, Reggio Emilia and Varese were Dridi Sabri, Mehidi
Ben Nasr and Imed Ben Zarkaoui – who were believed to be senior
member of Salafia Jihadiyya. Ali Ben Zidane Chehidi and Mohammed
Salah Ben Hamadi Khemiri were arrested in the UK cities of Croyden and
Manchester under an Italian arrest warrant. According to Italian security
forces, Chehidi and Khemiri had forged documents to facilitate the
illegal entry into Italy of volunteers for the jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan
between 2003 and 2005 (Agnew 2007)
Germany
GIA cells were formed in Germany and other European countries in the wake
of anti-terrorism successes in France. Earlier, the AIS had based its exiled
leadership council, headed by Rabah Kebir, in Germany. In addition, military
cells operated through so-called charities in France and Germany were used to
procured weapons for use in Algeria (Gunaratna 2002:165). Adel Mechat, an
Algerian member of the FIS, was extradited from Germany to France in 1998
and given a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in plots to attack the
1998 World Cup and 2000 European football championships (AFP 2006e).
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The Frankfurt cell responsible for the Strasbourg bombing plot was probably the
best example of North African involvement in terrorism activities in Germany.
Mohammed Bensakhria, alias Meliani al Ansari al-Germi, was identified as the
leader of the cell, under the direction of Abu Doha in London. Other members
included Hicham el Haddad, Lamine Maroni, Fouhad Sabour, Aroubi Benali.
Meliani, who trained in Afghanistan, was a veteran of the Bosnian war, where
he fought with Ahmed Ressam, who was implicated in the millennium plot. El
Haddad and Maroni were Algerians who had applied for political asylum in
the UK, where they resorted to crime. They were gradually radicalised under
the influence of Abu Doha and were sent for training in Afghanistan, where
they met Sabour who had dual Algerian and French citizenship. Sabour had
earlier been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the GIA bombing of the
Paris metro in 1995, but was released in the same year.
On their arrival in London, Sabour, el Haddad and Maroni sold drugs to fund
their activities. Sabour and Maroni left for Frankfurt in October 2000, where
they met Aroubi Benali, another Algerian. Benali had openly confessed his
association with the FIS when he applied for political asylum in 1992. The
German authorities denied him asylum and issued him with an expulsion
order. Benali stayed, however, and the order was never enforced, which
was a common practice at the time. In Frankfurt, members of the cell used
forged credit cards to pay for the planned attacks on the Strasbourg cathedral
and Christmas market in December 2000. However, the security forces of
Germany and France arrested members of the cell before the attacks could
be carried out (Vidino 2006:147-162). At their trial, el Haddad was sentenced
to 12 years’ imprisonment, Sabour to 11 years and six months, Maroni to 11
years and Benali to ten years. Meliani was arrested in Spain on 22 June 2001
and extradited to France, where he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment
for his involvement in the plot.
Investigations revealed that the cell was in constant contact with the Algerian
network in London, particularly with Abu Doha, its leader, as well as Slimane
Khalfaoui. Mustafa Labsi, who was also implicated in the millennium plot
in the US, was in charge of daily communications with the Frankfurt cell.
Labsi was arrested in Berlin in February 2000 while using a false credit card.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Rabah Kadre, Abu Doha’s deputy in
London, was also directly involved in the plot since his fingerprints were
found in one of the cell’s Frankfurt apartments. Kadre, the mastermind of
the cyanide attack on the London underground, was tried in absentia in
Paris for his involvement in the Strasbourg plot and sentenced to six years’
imprisonment (Vidino 2006:153;156).
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A number of other people originally from North Africa were also in custody
in Germany, including (US Federal News 2007):
•
Moustafa Djemel (34), who was born in Tiaret, Algeria, and who was
awaiting trail in Germany, had a number of aliases including: Ali Barkani,
born 22 August 1973 in Morocco; Belkacem Khaled, born 31 December
1979; Mostafa Djamel, born 31 December 1979 in Maskara, Algeria;
Balkasam Kalad, born 26 August 1973 in Algieria; Belkasam Kalad, born
26 August 1973 in Algieria, Algeria; and Djamel Moustafa, born 28
September 1973 in Algeria
•
Mohamed Ismail Yasser (34), alias Abu Shaweesh, born in Benghazi,
Libya, who was detained in Germany in January 2005. He was arrested
with an Egyptian travel document and two Egyptian passports
•
Mustapha Nasri bin Abdul Kader (45), alias Ait El Hadi, born in Tunis,
Tunisia, was also listed as an Algerian
•
Mounir El Motassadeq (34), born in Marrakesh, Morocco, had been in
detention since May 2007
A prominent Moroccan – in addition to the many Algerians – who was
involved in terrorist plots and support operations in Germany, Mounir el
Motassadeq was sentenced on 19 August 2005 to seven years in prison for
membership in an al-Qa’eda cell whose members had included 9/11 suicide
pilots Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah. According to the
judge, el Motassadeq became part of the Hamburg cell in 1999, before
its leading members travelled to Afghanistan and were recruited for the
attacks in the US. El Motassadeq had previously been convicted in 2003
on all the charges and given the maximum sentence. However, a German
federal appeals court in 2004 overturned the conviction, ruling that he had
been unfairly denied testimony from al-Qa’eda suspects in US custody. He
had been freed shortly afterwards, but had soon been rearrested. At his
retrial, which opened in August 2004, the US Justice Department provided
summaries from the interrogation of Ramzi Binalshibh, a key 9/11 suspect
held by the US. According to the statements, Binalshibh – believed to have
been the Hamburg cell’s liaison with al-Qa’eda – said that he and the three
suicide pilots alone comprised the cell. El Motassadeq was one of two
people charged in Germany in connection with the attacks. The other, a
friend of el Motassadeq and also a Moroccan, Abdelghani Mzoudi, was tried
on identical charges by another Hamburg court in 2007, but was acquitted
due to a lack of evidence (Dow Jones International News 2005b).
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In March 2007 Sweden extradited Abdelali Miftah, a Moroccan, to Germany
(AFP 2007t). Germany also tried a man identified as Redouane EH (37), a
Moroccan who held German citizenship, for funding the Iraqi insurgency.
Redouane, who was arrested in Kiel in July 2006, allegedly transferred
money to Egypt and Syria between August 2005 and July 2006. In addition
to funding the insurgency in Iraq, Redouane had contact with extremists
including Said Bahaji, who had close ties to three of the 9/11 pilots and who
lived and studied in Hamburg, and Mohamed Atta. Bahaji escaped from
Germany shortly before the 9/11 attacks and is wanted on an international
arrest warrant issued by Germany. Redouane also had contact with other
extremists in other European countries, including Sweden, where Abdelali M
(25), another Moroccan, had been arrested on a German-issued warrant and
handed over to Germany in May 2007. According to German prosecutors
at his 20 December trial in Karlsruhe, Abdelali had assisted Redouane in
supplying foreign fighters to Iraq and in forming a terror group in Sudan. He
had also assisted in smuggling three men into Germany – a Moroccan, an
Egyptian and a Saudi Arabian (Dow Jones International News 2007k). Thaer
A, a Jordanian, was being prosecuted separately, with three other people
(BBC Monitoring Europe 2007b). It is interesting to note that immediately
after their involvement in the 9/11 attacks these accused had redirected their
attention to facilitating recruitment for Iraq.
The Netherlands
One of the best-known instances of involvement by members of the GSPC
and GICM in the Netherlands was the Hofstad network, which had been
implicated in the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Mohammed
Bouyeri is currently serving a life sentence for the murder. Bouyeri however
did not act alone as originally thought, but was part of the Hofstad network,
which had connections throughout Europe including cells involved in the
bombings in Madrid and Casablanca. Dutch police subsequently took
another 13 suspected members of the group into custody, including Rachid
Belkacem, who had been arrested in London on 22 June 2005 and who
was alleged to have had links with Muhammed Achraf, an Algerian in Spain
(Atwan 2006:239).
In December 2006 a court sentenced four Islamist militants to jail for planning
terrorist attacks on politicians, including Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende,
and the headquarters of the Dutch intelligence agency. The court sentenced
Dutch-Moroccan Samir Azzouz to eight years in jail for plotting the attacks.
In September 2007, another Dutch court found Azzouz guilty on a charge of
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planning attacks on government buildings, and added four years to his eightyear sentence for his involvement in the plots to attack Schiphol airport, a
power station and the parliament building. This case had first been heard in
2005 but Azzouz had been acquitted. However, after his first conviction in
2006, this case against him had been reopened in 2007 (Reuters 2007n).
Reconfirming the central role of radical imams in mosques in Europe, the
El-Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam was alleged to have played a central role
in the radicalisation of Bouyeri and Azzouz. While the mosque is open to the
public, radicalisation usually took place in smaller discussion groups. Other
suspects included (Sterling 2006):
•
Nouredine al Fatmi, who was already serving a five-year sentence in
a separate terrorism case and who was given an additional four years’
imprisonment for plotting attacks and for recruiting other members
•
Mohammed Chentouf, who was also charged with plotting attacks, was
also sentenced to four years
•
Soumaya Sahla, al Fatmi’s ex-wife, was given a three-year sentence for
conspiracy
•
Another defendant was convicted of passport fraud and given a threemonth sentence
•
A last defendant was acquitted of all charges
Greece
To a large extent, Greece was considered to be a safe haven or a ‘facilitating’
country in Europe. European security forces, including those of Britain,
Portugal, France, Italy and the Netherlands, have made a number of arrests of
people found with forged Greek identity cards and passports.
Anwar Mazrar was the best-known of these. He was arrested on 13
September 2005 at the Kipon customs office after being wanted by French
and Moroccan authorities. First sought by the Moroccan police, Mazrar
escaped to France where according to French intelligence he set up a
network of Muslim extremists. Before he could be arrested, however, he
escaped using a forged French passport. French intelligence informed the
Greek authorities that Mazrar would try to enter Greece from Turkey on
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a bus travelling from Istanbul to Thessaloniki. Based on this information,
Mazrar had been arrested (BBC Monitoring Europe 2007).
United States and Canada
In addition to the involvement of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals
in Afghanistan (a list of Guantanamo Bay detainees is included as an annex)
and Iraq, other Algerians arrested in the US and Canada included (Williams
2002:120-121):
•
Hamid Aich, who was involved in a plot to smuggle explosives from
Canada to the US
•
Bouabide Chamchi, a member of the GIA, who was arrested in the US in
December 1999, when he tried to enter the country with a false passport
•
Abdelmajid Dahoumane, an accomplice of Ahmed Ressam (see below)
and also linked to the GIA, who was arrested in Port Angeles,
Washington, for his involvement in the 2000 millennium plot to blow up
the Los Angeles international airport
•
Mokhtar Haouari, a member of the GIA, who assisted in establishing an
al-Qa’eda cell in Montreal, was implicated in the millennium plot and
faced charges for forging travel documents
•
Abdel Ghani Meskini, another Algerian, who was also implicated in the
millennium plot
Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian, was convicted on 27 July 2005 for his part in
the millennium plot and sentenced to 22 years in prison (Joscelyn 2005). At
the outbreak of the conflict in Algeria, authorities had charged Ressam with
arms trafficking. He however escaped first to France and then to Montreal,
Canada. By January 1995, in addition to thieving, he became involved in
credit card fraud and the falsification of documents. The mastermind behind
this activity, Fateh Kamel, employed Ressam, making use of his criminal skills
and radicalised him through a mosque with other cell members, including
Abderraouf Hannachi, a Tunisian. Ressam, as a member of another group,
also raised funds for Islamist groups in Algeria – in 1997 alone $100 000 was
collected. With the assistance of Hannachi, Ressam moved to Afghanistan
for the period from March 1998 to early 1999, where he trained under Abu
Zubaydah in the Khalden training camp. After Ressam returned, he and
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other cell members, including Atmani, planned a number of bank robberies
in order to finance the millennium plot. However, on 14 December 1999
he was stopped by a US border patrol near Vancouver, where investigators
found explosives and timing devices (Kohlmann 2004:203-209).
During Ressam’s cross-examination in the case in the US against Mokhtar
Haouari in June-July 2001, it became known that Kamel had worked closely
with Karim Said Atmani, alias Abu Hisham (linked to the Roubaix cell) who
was living in Montreal. Both were Bosnian Mujahideen veterans. Atmani,
a Moroccan, actively participated in the Algerian conflict during the 1990s
and served as part of the Mansour Meliani commando group that was part
of the GIA, responsible for the bombing of the Algiers international airport
on 26 August 1992. Atmani, who was in contact with Abu Ma’ali, worked
as Kamel’s second in command with the Bosnian Mujahideen. In 1994 and
1995 Atmani was responsible for smuggling fighters from Europe to Bosnia.
On his arrival in Canada, Atmani resorted to robberies to fund the smuggling
activities. While befriending a group of young immigrants originally from
North Africa, Atmani was arrested by Canadian authorities on 14 October
1998 with two other Algerians, but was later released despite the interest in
him from French officials (Kohlmann 2004:203).
African involvement in Iraq
As a result of documents recovered in Sinjar, Syria, in September 2007, US
security forces learned that of more than 700 foreign fighters brought into
Iraq since August 2006, 305 had come from Saudi Arabia, 137 from Libya,
64 from Algeria, 50 from Morocco, 38 from Tunisia, 14 from Jordan, six from
Turkey and two from Egypt. In other words, 291 of these 700-plus fighters,
or about 39%, had come from North African countries. This was a far higher
proportion than the previous military estimates of ten to 13 per cent from
North Africa (Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies 2007).
In addition to recruitment networks established in Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia, nationals from these countries were also responsible for recruitment
networks established in Europe, including the Belgium-Spanish, French and
Italian networks. The following discussion will use examples to summarise
the structure and modus operandi of these networks:
The GICM formed the centre of the Belgium-Spanish network, which also
included Italy, France and the Netherlands. This network was implicated in
the following cases:
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•
Maymoun Belhaj was arrested in Syria on his way to Iraq in 2004. Wanted
in Morocco, Belhaj had lived in Spain and later in Belgium. Belhaj
contacted Abdelmajid Bouchar, a member of the GICM and implicated
in the 2004 Madrid bombings, in Leganes, Madrid, as well as Mustapha
Lounani, also implicated in the Madrid bombings and the brother-in-law of
Serhane Bin Abdelmajid Fakhet, alias the Tunisian, who was also involved
in the Madrid bombings. A member of the GICM in Schaarbeek, Belgium,
Lounani was found guilty and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in
Belgium for recruiting fighters to Iraq as well as for being in possession of
forged passports and an instruction manual on mobile phone–controlled
remote detonation devices. Lounani in turn put Belhaj in contact with
Mustapha al-Jazairi, an Algerian who financially assisted Belhaj to leave
Belgium. Lounani also put Belhaj in touch with Muhsin Khaibar, alias
Abdelmajid al-Libi, alias Abdelmajid al-Yasser, alias Abdelqadir al-Hakimi,
who was sentenced to death in Morocco in 1985 and was believed to be
the leader of the GICM in Europe, based in Belgium. Both assisted Belhaj
to go to Syria. Khaibar as well as al-Hakimi were arrested in Syria in May
2004 and deported to Morocco (Hafez 2007: 196-198)
•
Abdelhy Asas, alias Abu Abdullah, was arrested in Syria on his way to
Iraq in 2004. He was assisted by the same network that had facilitated
Belhaj’s travel to Iraq. His first contact person in Morocco was Abdelkarim
al-Mijati, alias Abu al-Yas, who was wanted for the 2002 Casablanca
bombings. Asas went to Syria with the assistance of Abbas al-Jazairi, an
Algerian, and Abdelrahman al-Maghribi, a Moroccan, as well as Muhsin
Khaibar, who had also assisted Belhaj (Hafez 2007: 199)
Implicated in the French network were (Hafez 2007:202-204):
•
Redouane el-Hakim, a Tunisian, who was killed in Fallujah on 17 July 2004
•
Tarek Ouinis, who was killed by a US patrol on 20 September 2004
•
Abdelhalim Badjoudj, an Algerian, who was killed in a suicide attack
on 20 October 2004. Prior to their involvement in Iraq, Ouinis and
Badjoudj smoked marijuana, used alcohol, listened to rap music and wore
Western clothing. Badjoudj returned to France in January 2004 to marry
a French woman of Moroccan origin. Two months later he left for Iraq.
Badjoudj and el-Hakim were unemployed and came from broken families.
El-Hakim’s brother, Boubaker, was arrested in Syria in August 2004. They
were recruited through mosques, Muslim centres and militant websites run
by several groups, including Ansar al-Islam (Smith and Van Natta 2004)
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•
Bazis Idris (41), an Algerian, who died in a suicide attack in February
2005. During the 1990s he spent time in Afghanistan and BosniaHerzegovina. Although he returned to France in the mid 1990s, he had
gone back to Afghanistan in the late 1990s
•
Said al-Maghrebi, a Moroccan, who was arrested by French authorities
in April 2005 on his way to Iraq. He was in contact with Laurent
Mourad Djoumakh and Samir Korhi, who were convicted by a court in
Paris in December 2004 for their involvement in the Frankfurt cell that
planned to attack the Strasbourg Christmas market in December 2000.
Al-Maghrebi had spent time in Afghanistan during 1990 and had left for
France in 2001 (AFP 2004h)
•
Said Arif, an Algerian, who acted as a link between recruiters in France
and Syria. Syrian authorities arrested him in May 2003 and extradited
him to France in June 2004. Arif deserted the Algerian army and left
for Afghanistan during the mid 1990s. Moving to Germany, Arif was
in contact with Mohammed Bensakhria alias Meliani (see above), the
leader of the Frankfurt cell. Avoiding arrest in Germany, Arif escaped to
Pakistan. After the fall of the Taliban, Arif joined the Chechen rebels with
Mabrouk Echiker, alias al-Moutana, an Algerian and member of the GIA
and later the GSPC, who was also involved in the Strasbourg plot. Arif
was also linked to Abu Doha and Rabah Kadre, based in London. After
the arrest of Abu Doha, Kadre assisted Arif and Echiker in March 2001 to
leave Europe. Echiker was killed in the Chechnya attacks against Russian
targets carried out by the La Corneuve and Romainville cells in France
(Vidino 2006:173)
The Italian recruitment network for Iraq included a cell in the Sorgane
mosque that had been discovered in May 2004. Those involved included
(Hafez 2007:205-207):
•
Mohammed Rafik, who was a former imam at the mosque and who had
links with the GICM, was arrested in October 2003 and charged with
involvement in the 2003 Casablanca bombings
•
Rachid Maami, an Algerian, the leader of the cell, and four other Tunisians
from well-off families. Maami, linked to the GIA, used his position as imam
to recruit followers
Sheikh Mahdjoub Abderrezak, an Algerian who had lived in Germany, was
also implicated as one of the al-Qa’eda coordinators in Italy. He had arrived
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in Germany as a political asylum seeker in 1992. When his application was
rejected, he went to Afghanistan and later Chechnya. In 1999 he returned to
Germany, where he married a German citizen. While in Hamburg, Abderrazak
visited al-Quds mosque, which was headed by Shaikh al-Fazazi, who was
implicated in the Casablanca bombings (Hafez 2007:205-207). Abderrezak
was arrested in Hamburg by German police acting on an Italian warrant at the
same time as two other suspects were arrested in Milan. They were Bouyahia
Maher Ben Abdelaziz (33), a Tunisian, and Housni Jamal (20), a Moroccan.
Two other alleged al-Qa’eda operatives, Muhammad Majid (33), an Iraqi, and
a Tunisian woman, Bentiwaa Farida Ben Bechir, were wanted, while Toumi
Ali Ben Sassi was already in Italian custody (Agnew 2003). Another, Jamal
Housni, alias Jamal al-Maghrebi, a Tunisian, had assisted in the recruitment
of Iraqi fighters and procured forged documents for al-Qa’eda members in
Turkey (Hafez 2007:205-207).
Fadhal Saadi, a Tunisian, lived in Milan before he became an Iraqi suicide
bomber in July 2003. Before he left for Iraq, Saadi had been implicated in
the plan to assassinate Shah Masud in Afghanistan by delivering two Italian
driver’s licences, residence permits and Tunisian passports forged in Naples.
In 2002 he had gone to Iraqi Kurdistan via France and then on to Iran, when
he carried out his suicide attack.
Kamal Morchidi (22), a Tunisian and a member of the Ben Khemais cell, lived
in Milan, Italy, before he carried out a suicide attack on the al-Rashid hotel in
Baghdad on 26 October 2003, possibly targeting US Deputy Defence Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz. He was trained in Afghanistan and was implicated in supplying
forged documents to foreign fighters who wanted to enter Iraq (Rotella 2003).
Habib Waddani, alias Said, a Tunisian living in Milan, also carried out a
suicide attack in Iraq. He was also wanted by Italy in September 2000 for
trafficking weapons and explosives for al-Qa’eda training camps from Russia
through Uzbekistan to Pakistan (Hafez 2007:205-207). Waddani was added
to the US Treasury Department’s list of individuals and groups associated
with al-Qa’eda on 29 August 2002 (Dow Jones International News 2002).
Algeria
At an organisational level, officials in Algeria indicated that the GSPC and a
group called al-Taifa al Mansouri, or Chosen and Victorious, had been involved
in recruiting individuals to participate in the conflict in Iraq (MacGrory and
Evans 2004).
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Abu al-Hammam, the leader of the Anjad al-Islam group, was arrested in
Algeria in June 2006 shortly after his return from Syria where he had lived
since 2003. The arrest was made after investigations revealed that he was
leading a cell that recruited Algerians to fight in Iraq and had arranged for
them to travel to Syria and stay there before joining Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad
al-Rafidayn, or the Al-Qa’eda in the Land of the Two Rivers. According to
security sources, al-Hammam had also been instructed to recruit Tunisian
fighters to be trained by GSPC/AQLIM before they were sent to Iraq (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007dm).
Reflecting on the effectiveness of these and other organisations and cells
involved in the recruitment of Algerians in Iraq, US sources in March 2007
confirmed that about one in five suicide bombers in Iraq were from Algeria,
while about one in 20 had originated from Morocco and Tunisia. The figures
indicated growing cooperation between Islamist extremists in North Africa
and Iraq. The US report continued: ‘Moroccan groups have allocated about
$200,000 to provide transportation for “volunteers” to Iraq via Europe and
Syria (…) [while they] still use other routes to Iraq through Turkey and Iran’
(BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007dn). Although it is very difficult to source
verified information on the details, the names of a number of Algerians
were made available. One of them was Walid Khelfallah (24), who died in
a suicide operation on Green Square in Baghdad in November 2006 (BBC
Monitoring Middle East, 2007do).
In September 2007 the Pakistani government announced that 45 Algerians
arrested in Pakistan ‘(…) had enlisted in the ranks of the Taliban and [had],
directly or indirectly, helped the Algerian armed Islamist groups during the
terrorism decade’ since the US invasion of Afghanistan. In 2006 Pakistan
deported 20 Afghan-Algerians to Algeria after they had been arrested in
Waziristan. Included in this group was Mehdi Rabah, who was suspected
of ‘being a former leading preacher who had taken part in the fighting with
the American troops in Afghanistan. [Previously he] resided in Saudi Arabia
during the 1990s before reaching Pakistan to occupy the post of teacher
at the International University of Islamabad’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East,
2007dp).
In July 2005 security forces revealed that an unnamed Egyptian Islamist
had been arrested in Algeria. The suspect, the manager of a travel bureau,
had been providing cover to Salafists leaving for Iraq via Syria. The case
was reminiscent of the GSPC-Al-Zarqawi connection that might have been
activated at the time of the abduction of Algerian diplomats in Iraq (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2005j). Some 150 Algerians were detained in 2007
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alone in Syria on suspicion of attempting to cross the border between Syria
and Iraq (Whitlock 2007b).
In another case, Syrian security authorities handed Adil Sakir al-Mukni, also
known as Yasir Abu Sayyaf over to Algeria in September 2005. Abu Sayyaf
used to be in charge of coordination between the GSPC and the Al-Zarqawiled al-Qa’eda for Jihad Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers. Adil
Sakir, who was also in charge of GSPC’s Internet website, was arrested in an
Internet café. Information subsequently provided by Yasir Abu Sayyaf led to
the dismantling of a Moroccan terrorist cell, whose members were on their
way to Boumerdes. They were however arrested and handed over to the
Moroccan authorities through the Oujda frontier post (opened exceptionally
on 31 July to complete the handover process). Prior to his arrest in Syria,
Yasir Abu Sayyaf had already been jailed three times in Algeria for supporting
terrorist organizations. He was 17 years of age when he was first arrested.
In December 2003, he decided to leave Algeria and settle in Syria (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2005k).
Iraqi recruitment networks in Algeria were particularly active in the east
of the country, close to the border with Tunisia. Networks that had been
operational for more than a year were in Reghiba, Guemar, Trifaoui and
El-Oued, where most of the traditional fighting is concentrated. In El-Oued,
the Essouafa Katibat, whose headquarters were near Tebessa, was headed by
Abu el-Khettab and was the primary target of security forces. It is suspected
that the network successfully enlisted several young people, estimated at
60 during the past three years. Oualid Khelfellah was one of a number of
Algerians who were already involved in suicide operations in Iraq (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007dq).
In another case involving El-Oued, a 39-year-old Afghan war veteran who
was a computer programmer, used internet sites from where he printed
leaflets and recorded CDs which he distributed to young people with the
intention of persuading them to participate in the war in Iraq. According to
security forces, the suspect successfully recruited a 22-year-old relative and
a second person aged 23. Both had contacted their families from Iraq (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007dq).
Subsequently on 5 May 2007, nine people aged between 20 and 30 were
brought before the state prosecutor in an El-Oued court charged with being
members of a terrorist organisation active within and outside the country.
Detailed charges included recruitment, financing, incitement to terrorism
and the distribution of subversive literature (including audiovisual films,
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
microcomputers, CDs, flash discs, MP4s and subversive documents produced
by al-Qa’eda). Among the accused were a university professor, a student, a
day worker and an unemployed man. Seven other people implicated in the
case were still wanted. Security agencies believed that at least two of these,
both university students, had reached Iraq – new recruits for Iraq go through
Syria, via Algiers. This was the conclusion drawn from an analysis made from
telephone calls between the El-Oued networks and their counterparts in Iraq.
According to the same agencies, five young men had already completed their
training as suicide bombers in a camp located in a palm grove in the village of
S’hine (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006l). GSPC/AQLIM made use of cyber
cafés, mosques and bookstores to make contact with the young unemployed
men and students whom the group wished to target (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007dr). However, those involved came from diverse backgrounds, as
indicated in the previous paragraph.
Morocco
After his involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, Mohamed Afalah
fled to Iraq where he died in a suicide attack on an Iraqi military checkpoint
in the Dora neighbourhood of Baghdad in May 2005, while Mohamed Belhaj
and Daoud Ouhnane died in Iraq in October or November 2006 (Reuters
2007m). According to information, Ouhnane was in contact with suspected
Islamist extremists in Catalonia in 2005 and 2006 (The Irish Examiner 2007).
Samir Tahtah, also part of the Madrid train bombing network, was already
in prison after being convicted of belonging to a Syrian-based network
that recruited suicide bombers to attack US troops in Iraq (Dow Jones
International News, 2007j).
Salafia Jihadia members in Morocco were also linked with the involvement
of Moroccans in Iraq. For example, during investigations into the arrest of
a cell in Morocco during August 2005, investigators indicated that Lehasan
Ben Mousa, who had been arrested in Morocco, had intended to infiltrate
Iraq via Syria. Ben Mousa contacted a friend called Ali El Abidi in Syria
to facilitate his journey to Iraq in the company of Izzeddine Nawayili,
alias Abu Souhayb, alias Abu Zayd. Ben Mousa admitted that he had
travelled from Casablanca to Damascus, where a Jordanian and a Syrian
were waiting to meet him. As they had, however, been unable to cross
the Syrian border, Nawayili and another person, Ahmet Ait Barhal, went to
Turkey and Syria, from where they were able to reach Iraq. But Nawayili
returned to Morocco after joining a group in Iraq that asked him to carry
out a suicide bombing targeting a Shi’i market. He refused to carry out the
attack after he visited the market, claiming that women and children would
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be killed. He was deported to Damascus, where the Syrian police arrested
him. He returned to Morocco after being released (BBC Monitoring Middle
East, 2005c).
In April 2006, Abdelaziz A, while being detained in Morocco, admitted that
a Moroccan, identified as Husni, had carried out a suicide bombing in Iraq
during 2005 (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006n).
Two suicide bombers recruited at the Hsida mosque in Tetouan carried out
their suicide mission in Baqouba, Iraq, in October 2006 (Thorne 2007). This
was in spite of the fact that Moroccan security forces had in 2006 dismantled
11 networks specialising in the recruitment of Moroccans to Iraq. According
to the same source, the GICM had sent approximately 40 people to Iraq
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ds).
On 5 January 2007 Moroccan authorities announced that their security
forces had dismantled an Islamist cell specialising in recruiting volunteers
for Iraq and had arrested 62 people (New York Times Abstracts 2007;
Abdennebi and Pfeiffe 2007). On the same date a court in Sale, Morocco,
sentenced Ibrahim Samiri to two years’ imprisonment after he was arrested in
Syria on the border with Iraq (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dt). Arrests
were concentrated in Tetouan and a village close to the border with Ceuta.
The majority of the suspects came from the Mezuak district of Tetouan,
the same area where five of the Islamist radicals who had taken part in the
Madrid train bombings in 2004 had grown up. Among those arrested was
Fatala Abdelillah, the imam of the Dawa wa Tabligh mosque in Mezuak, who
had previously been arrested on terrorism charges in November 2006 but
had subsequently been released (Cembrero 2007a).
Also in January 2007 Moroccan security forces arrested Abdelali Ayad in
Chefchaouen, Tetouan. It is alleged that Ayad recruited approximately 40
volunteers to Iraq as part of a terrorist cell established in Tetouan (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007du).
Ahmed Essafri, a Swedish citizen of Moroccan origin, was charged in Rabat
on 12 January 2007 with being involved in the recruitment of fighters for Iraq.
At the same time, Khaled Oussayeh, a Moroccan-born Belgian, was charged
with being a member of the GICM, suspected of involvement in attacks in
Casablanca in 2003 and Madrid in 2004, planning terrorist acts and falsifying
documents. Oussayeh originally lived in Maaseik, a small town on Belgium’s
border with the Netherlands, but was extradited to Morocco after being
arrested in Syria (AFP 2007u).
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On 2 February 2007, Mohamed Ben Moujane, a Moroccan arrested in
Afghanistan by Pakistani security forces as an al-Qa’eda bodyguard, was
sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment in Morocco after being handed over by
the US, where he had been one of eight Moroccans held at Guatanamo Bay
(AFP 2007j).
In November 2007 Iraqi security forces accused Mohsen Khaybar, alias
Abdelmajid el-Libi (the Libyan), alias Abderrahim, a Moroccan originally
from Tetouan, of being linked to Ansar al-Islam, which was responsible
for planning terrorist attacks against the Shi’is in Iraq. Khaybar, who was
believed to have lived in Damascus, Syria, also led a network involved in the
recruitment of fighters for Iraq. Khaybar was considered one of the leading
members of the al-Jama’ah al-Libiyah al-Muqatilah, or the Libyan Combatant
Group, which he joined during his stay in Afghanistan, even though he is a
Moroccan – which explains the reference to Libya in his alias. Moroccans
arrested in Syria and deported to Morocco during the course of this case had
implicated Khaybar (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dv).
In summary, although the country experienced only sporadic acts of terrorism
on its own soil, Moroccans were particularly active both in recruiting foreign
fighters for Iraq and in various European terrorist networks.
Tunisia
Tunisians responsible for or implicated in attacks in Iraq included (Vidino
2006:265-266):
•
Yusri Fakhir Muhammad Ali al-Turayki, alias Abu-Qadamah al-Tunisi, a
Tunisian, had been responsible for attacks on two tombs in Samarra and
thereby further fuelling sectarian violence in Iraq. Al-Turayki, who was
believed to have entered Iraq in November 2003, was sentenced to death
in 2006 for his suspected role in the assassination of journalist Atwar Bahjat
and for his involvement in the bombing of the tombs of imams Ali al-Hadi
and Al-Hasan al-Askari in Samarra (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007dd)
•
Nabil Sulaymani, a Tunisian, was arrested in Syria in an attempt to enter Iraq
and was deported back to Tunisia (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007dd)
•
Fadhal Saadi, who had previously been implicated in the preparations
for the assassination of Shah Masud in Afghanistan, lived in Milan before
becoming a suicide bomber in July 2003
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•
Kamal Morchidi, a member of the Ben Khemais cell, also lived in Milan
before carrying out his suicide attack on the al-Rashid hotel in Baghdad
on 26 October 2003, possibly, as earlier indicated, targeting US Deputy
Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
•
Habib Waddani, alias Said, a Tunisian living in Milan (and also previously
referred to), also carried out a suicide attack in Iraq. He was previously
wanted for weapons and explosives trafficking for al-Qa’eda training
camps (Hafez 2007:205-207)
•
Lofti Rihani, who was a member of a cell headed by Essid Sami Ben
Khemais, died with two other Tunisians in a suicide attack on US forces
in September 2003
•
Fahdal Nassim, who was implicated in the attack against UN headquarters
in Baghdad in August 2003
In December 2006, Turkish authorities arrested Malek Charahili, a Tunisian,
and raided the residences of his two accomplices, a Moroccan and a Turk,
who were suspected of assisting foreign fighters to enter Iraq through supplying
them with false passports. It was believed that after the imprisonment of
Syrian Loa’i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa, who was charged with being the
mastermind behind the suicide bombings in Istanbul in 2003 which killed
58 people, Charahili may have become al-Qa’eda’s top operative in Turkey
(Dow Jones International News 2006a).
Egyptian security forces also announced in early January 2007 that four
Tunisians – Ayman Hkiri, Ahamed Lahbib, Mhamed Almadiri and an unnamed
fourth person – were to be deported to Tunisia after being arrested in the
Madinet Nasr district in Cairo and in Alexandria. Nine Tunisians, eight French,
two Belgians, one US citizen and a number of Syrians and Egyptians were
arrested on suspicion of being part of a cell involved in the recruitment of
foreign fighters for Iraq (All Africa 2007).
Abu Osama al-Tunisi, an emir responsible for bringing Sunni fighters to Iraq
where he was believed to have been based since 2004, was one of between
six and ten al-Qa’eda leaders in Iraq believed to have been killed in a US air
strike on 25 September 2007. According to the US Central Command: ‘Abu
Osama al-Tunisi was in the inner leadership circle of Abu Ayyub al-Masri,
the leader of al-Qa’eda in Iraq, and was a likely successor.’ Al-Tunisi was
the military emir of Baghdad’s southern belt and took over the role of emir
of foreign terrorists when al-Masri became the overall leader. Al-Tunisi
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helped equip foreign terrorists for improvised explosive device attacks, carbombing campaigns and suicide attacks throughout Baghdad (US Federal
News 2007a)
However, Abu Osama al-Tunisi’s fate was not certain. According to
al-Qa’eda-aligned websites, another commander with a similar name had
been killed in 2006, while, according to other sources, another Tunisian with
a similar name and also fighting in Iraq might have adopted the name Abu
Osama al-Tunisi because it was a famous name (Zavis and Barnes 2007).
The impact of transnational terrorism may be summarised in a single statistic,
which is that some four-fifths of all the high-profile attacks in Iraq have been
carried out by foreign terrorists.
Conclusion
Prior to 9/11, the political freedom that existed in democratic regimes allowed
terror organisations and individuals to recruit new members, to propagate their
ideals and activities, as well as to organise and launch their operations, including
sending Islamists for training in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq.
Western Europe was used by a number of these groups (despite being
classified in other countries as terrorist groups) to raise funds and publicise
their activities. Allowing these groups to function in the so-called safe haven
countries of Europe under the cover and protection of civil liberties made
these countries themselves vulnerable to terrorism. Consequently many
European countries gradually began to experience the devastating impact of
international terrorism in much the same way as France and more recently
Spain had earlier experienced.
Western European countries have also begun to understand that turning a
blind eye to extremists being trained in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and
Iraq will in the end pose a threat not only to these and other more distant
countries, but to their own countries as well.
While Europe had been a safe environment for many terrorists who sought
political asylum as a way of preventing their extradition to their respective
countries of origin, the opposite happened after 9/11, when instead of
honouring one of the primary rules of extradition, which is not to extradite
a person who might be tortured or unfairly treated, some countries overreacted in their attempts to rid themselves of current or future threats. Such
over-reaction led to allegations of Islamophobia.
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In Spain, the government approved the extradition of the two suspects to
Morocco in October 2007, while Britain signed agreements with countries
with poor human rights records, including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The first person to be handed over to Algeria was Taleb Benaissa, who was
suspected of having ties with Rachid Ramda. Although Benaissa had travelled
to Pakistan, he had been in the education profession. British police had
arrested him in 2002 and kept him in detention until 2005 without being able
to make a successful case against him. Algeria, however, had on 10 November
2007 sentenced Benaissa in absentia to three years’ imprisonment. Britain
was also expected to hand over another three Algerians (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007dw).
On 18 July 2007 US officials handed Abdallah Ben Amor Hajji over to
Tunisian authorities after being held at Guantanamo Bay. In 1995 a military
court in Tunisia sentenced him in absentia to a 10-year prison term for
belonging to a terrorist organization. In particular for his alleged involvement
in the Tunisian Islamic Front, a group thought to be the armed branch of
the banned Islamist party an-Nahda. Hajji moved from Tunis with his family
to Pakistan in 1990. Pakistani authorities arrested him in April 2002 and
delivered him to the U.S. government, which sent him to Guantanamo. The
circumstances in which both Abdallah and Lotfi Lagha were held after being
handed over by the United States, despite all the assurances raised a number
of questions (Dow Jones International News 2007l).
Subsequently, a US federal judge, citing the mistreatment of Abdallah Ben
Amor Hajji and Lofti Lagha, and blocked the transfer of Mohammed Abdul
Rahman, a Tunisian who was captured in Pakistan, despite reassurances from
the Tunisian government. Although a military tribunal had heard Rahman’s
case in 2005 and cleared him for transfer to Tunisia, Rahman had been
convicted in absentia in Tunisia and sentenced to 20 years in prison, where
he could be tortured (Selsky 2007).
The US Supreme Court also blocked the deportation of Ahmed Belbacha,
an Algerian who had been held at Guantanamo Bay since February
2002 following his arrest in Pakistan. This decision probably followed the
announcement of Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz in October 2007
that Algeria would not accept any conditions for the repatriation of former
Guantanamo Bay detainees (AFP 2007v).
It is also interesting to note that while European countries turned a blind eye
in the 1990s to European-based support structures run by foreigners wanted
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by their countries of origin, or those who abused lax European immigration
policies, French authorities dismantled a cell suspected of providing logistical
support to the GSPC/AQLIM within a week after the Algiers bombings of
11 December 2007, in which UN offices and the country’s constitutional
council had been targeted (Verges 2007).
While the network did not plan to target France in its attacks – which was
a previous criterion for attention from the security forces – this and other
security operations seem to indicate an international commitment to the
view that a threat against one is a threat against all. It would be interesting to
speculate whether transnational terrorism would have spread as it has if this
approach had existed before European countries had had direct experience
of violent extremism.
CHAPTER 6
ASSESSMENT OF
COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGIES
The previous five chapters have provided an overview of the threat of
terrorism in the three countries under review, as well as the historical
development of terrorism and its regional and international impact. To
complete the discussion, this chapter will describe counter-terrorism strategies
and their effectiveness in preventing and combating radicalisation as well as
terrorism. The success or failure of these strategies will influence current and
future challenges and threats.
Political strategies and terrorism
Over the past three decades, the three countries under review have
attempted a number of strategies to minimise radicalisation. In one of these
strategies, countries committed themselves to political development or at
least an intention to open up the political landscape.
After the experience of Algeria in 1991–2, it was to be expected that these
countries would be suspicious of parties using religion to mobilise the masses
or to justify their claim to power, particularly when this was coupled with a
more radical agenda. While total exclusion is out of the question, countries in
the Muslim world are increasingly being challenged to find a middle ground
between:
•
Recognising and allowing religious-based parties to operate and
participate in elections as part of a strategy to limit the impact of religious
extremism
•
Preventing the manipulation of religion to the extent that it will ultimately
lead to drastic changes in the political landscape
After the cancellation of the 1992 elections in Algeria – when in order to
prevent an FIS victory the military changed the constitution to prohibit the
formation of political parties based on religion – Algeria gradually began
to open up the political process. Much, however, remains to be done,
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particularly in enhancing legitimacy through encouraging and/or improving
political participation.
Despite the three reconciliation charters that will be discussed here, former
members of armed groups are not allowed to form political parties and
are therefore excluded from the political process. This decision was again
questioned during 2007 when former members of the AIS, who were
disarmed in 1997, asked to be allowed to form a political party. Interior
Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni stated: ‘Any return to the political scene
by officials of the dissolved party is ruled out’ (Reuters 2007p). FIS members
also expressed their willingness to participate in the local election race
through the Movement for the Society of Peace. However, the Movement
refused to allow FIS members to join their party out of fear that the interior
ministry would strike their names from their electoral lists or would ban these
lists altogether (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dx).
Limiting the influence of religious-based parties has proved to be a
favourable strategy in Morocco. While political parties were permitted to
formulate their manifestos on religious principles, parties with more radical
platforms were prohibited from registering. The government therefore
hoped to prevent radical elements from gaining a foothold while not
explicitly excluding them from the political process. Unfortunately, the
involvement of the recognised Islamist parties in elections is condemned
by the radical Islamists, who often accuse these parties of being puppets of
corrupt governments whose policies and legitimacy are in conflict with the
true principles of Islam. Particularly in the way these governments maintain
good relations with Western countries. One therefore wonders if the
strategy to strengthen moderate Islamic parties will really be successful as
a counter to extreme interpretations, particularly since the Islamist parties
which often have a strong following are excluded from the political process
(as they also are, for example, in Egypt, which is not part of the present
discussion).
The legitimacy of most governments is at the heart of the debate. Despite
holding regular elections, the low level of political participation is
continuing to raise concern. During 2007 both Morocco and Algeria had
elections. Voter turnout in Morocco has fallen from 67 per cent in 1984
and 52 per cent in 2002 to 37 per cent in 2007 (Ghanmi 2007). In the
Algeria elections in May 2007 voter turnout was 35 per cent. Both sets
of results should be considered as a sign of voter disillusionment, despite
claims on the part of political leaders that their countries are on the path of
political reform.
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Both countries continue to keep a tight control over the religious establishment,
but in the case of Morocco the monarchy also controls the political system.
Notwithstanding a liberal strategy towards women, King Mohamed VI
appoints the prime minister, who in turn chooses government ministers.
Parliament has been described as a rubber stamp for the king’s initiatives and
as a discussion forum, while criticism of the monarchy or its policies is strictly
off limits. A complex electoral system means that it is almost impossible
for a single political party to be in control of parliament (Carroll 2007a).
Notwithstanding questions of legitimacy, the Justice and Development Party,
a moderate Islamist party, won 46 seats in the 2007 elections.
In 1992 the Tunisian government banned an-Nahda, an extremist political
party established to change Tunisia into ‘an Islamic country’, after a plot to
assassinate President Ben Ali was uncovered. Since then a large number of
its members have been arrested and detained. According to the International
Association for the Support of Political Prisoners, 57 an-Nahda members
were detained, of whom 22 received presidential pardons on 25 July 2007
(AP 2007l).
While Algeria and Morocco have begun to open up the political landscape,
Tunisia still firmly excludes even moderate Islamic political parties from
the political process. In the case of Tunisia, as with some other Muslim
countries, the fear exists that the government might use the threat of
terrorism and extremism as an excuse to limit political participation and/or
to crack down on any form of dissent and therefore delay political reforms.
Equally, political participation also serves as a double-edged sword, in
that although Islamists could claim a moral high ground in opting for a
non-violent strategy to win political power legitimately, participation in the
political process might also harm these groups by implying that they agree
to its rules and therefore recognise the legitimacy of the current political
process.
It cannot be denied that the three countries under review have disregarded
democratic principles in order to prevent and combat extremism and
terrorism – often the first casualty, even in established democracies. In
addition to the need to protect citizens from violence and terrorism, serious
introspection is needed to question the true motivation behind these policies.
In other words, if the possibility exists that policies based on political
exclusion is rather based on an inherent need to protect or ensure a hold on
power? Notwithstanding the opinion the reader might have, the use or the
manipulation of religion for political gain is an unfortunate reality irrespective
of the guilty party.
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Amnesty and the resurgence of terrorism
On 29 September 2005 the Algerian government proposed a ‘Charter for
Peace and National Reconciliation’ in a referendum to the Algerian people.
At the end of the day the charter was supported by 97 per cent in a turnout
of 82 per cent (Factiva 2006). Since 29 September 2005, however, a number
of parties have indicated their reservation and even open hostility towards
the proposed strategy of seeking a peaceful solution to the ‘Black Period’
(starting in 1991), that resulted in the death of an estimated 150 000 people
(the precise figure is not known). Although the details of the charter are
important, the following discussion will question the practical implications of
the charter and the prospects for a sustainable peace.
The 2005 charter was not the first attempt on the part of the government
to resolve the conflict. Through the introduction of a reconciliation plan in
1995, President Zeroual initiated the Rahma, or clemency law, directed at
the AIS. Under this initiative, approximately 2 000 fighters, predominantly
from the Mitidja region, laid down their arms. In the same spirit, President
Bouteflika initiated the Civil Concord in 1999. This resulted in clemency for
approximately 6 000 terrorists (AFP 2005i).
In the same way as the latest 2005 charter, the 1999 concord was directed
at Islamist fighters who had not committed violent crimes, such as murder
and rape. However, practically all reformed Islamists benefited from the
clemency measures, regardless of any crime they had committed.
Although the 2005 charter has also resulted in clemency for approximately
6 000 Islamists, it has not proved to be sufficient since it has not led to
real political dialogue on the deeper causes of the crisis or, in turn, to real
political integration. Considering that previous repentance initiatives also
did not manage to resolve the conflict, it might be advisable to revisit the
present conflict-resolution strategy, particularly since, although violence is
on a declining trend, the threat, recruitment and impact of radicalisation and
terrorism are changing, as discussed in a previous chapter.
From the onset, it was feared that the Charter for Peace and National
Reconciliation might be faced with the same obstacles as the previous two
attempts. In addition to a continuation of attacks – despite the fact that
according to government sources between 250 and 300 militants have
‘repented’ – the victims, support groups and human rights organisations
are increasingly confronting the government on the manner in which the
charter is implemented. Human rights organisations argue that the charter
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was formulated as a result of political considerations rather than in the
pursuit of justice and reconciliation. All indications exist that reconciliation
between the regime and the terrorists came at the cost of the victims (Lewis
2006). Judging from previous reconciliation processes on the continent,
one needs to ask if repentance within the Algerian framework is really
repentance. Can the laying down of arms without repenting be classified
as reconciliation? And what if the underlying root causes are not being
addressed?
The objective of a sound reconciliation process is not to blame the other
party for all the wrongs it committed in an attempt to justify own actions,
but rather to bring people on both sides of the conflict together in a process
of confronting the past and building trust and a lasting peaceful future. In
effect, reconciliation is a process in which the past is addressed in order
to move to the future through four interrelated components: truth, justice,
forgiveness and healing. Reconciliation involves building new relationships
between former enemies on the premise of ‘respect and real understanding
of each other’s needs, fears and aspirations [since] the habits and patterns
of cooperation that we then develop are the best safeguard against a return
of violent division’ (Bloomfield 2003). Reconciliation as a process therefore
involves the following elements:
•
•
•
•
An opportunity to tell the truth
Reparation
Restorative justice
Healing
Reconciliation can therefore only be achieved if the truth is revealed. In other
words, the ability to question, speak and reveal. Within the Algerian context,
the law implementing the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation
proposes up to five years’ imprisonment for statements or activities
concerning ‘the National Tragedy’ that ‘harms’ state institutions, ‘the good
reputation of its agents’ or ‘the image of Algeria internationally’ (Goldstein
2006).
Further questioning the process of revealing the truth as part of the
reconciliation process, the government announced that the names of
Islamist terrorists would not be made public, nor would the process that
certifies that they have not committed rape or participated in attacks
or massacres. The government further indicated that in practice the
responsibility for the conflict was solely that of the Islamist terrorists. In
other words, the government is avoiding a recognition and acceptance of
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responsibility for its part in the conflict – and in particular the numerous
disappearances of its ‘enemies’.
Despite the fact that the charter acknowledges the role of the security
forces and armed groups, such as the Patriots, in human rights abuses, the
government maintains that the security forces and state-armed militias acted
in the interests of the country. The government therefore fails to acknowledge
that it may have also been responsible for serious crimes as well. Further
questioning the government’s resolve not to confront its own role in the
conflict came with the discovery of a number of mass graves. Although it was
expected that the government would be willing to have the graves exhumed
and bodies examined forensically, the opposite has happened (Goldstein
2006).
In addition to the government’s reluctance to accept responsibility, reports by
local activists, victims and their families indicated that judicial investigations
were not carried out and that some 2 200 former Islamists had been
released from jail after de facto exemptions from prosecution or without
any assessment of whether or not they had committed grave human rights
abuses. With reference to the approximately 7 000 people (precise figure
not known) who have disappeared, the government has granted a general
amnesty to members of the security forces (Factiva 2006).
Even leaving aside the question of the implications of the present reconciliation
process for victims and their families, the fact that amnesty is traditionally
granted after hearings at which the truth comes out puts a question-mark on
the Algerian version of a reconciliation process.
In previous reconciliation processes, truth and justice have proved to be more
objective when they are recorded collaboratively by both parties affected by
an atrocity. Forgiveness and closure are possible only after the victims, or
the family of victims, have heard the perpetrator’s full testimony. Amnesty
can therefore only be granted on a case-by-case basis, based on the crime
committed and after details of the atrocities were revealed.
Although the reconciliation process essentially takes place on an individual
level, the government plays an essential role in promoting the process and
in providing the necessary instruments to facilitate the process. In the case
of Algeria, the government recognises the importance of reconciliation in
principle through reference in the title of the charter to ‘peace and national
reconciliation’, but there has been no attempt to implement this process
in practice. Despite a clear need to confront the past, President Bouteflika
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has said: ‘Algeria’s wounds are still too raw for a truth commission and (…)
Algerians yearn to look toward the future’ (AFP 2005i).
By 7 January 2007, Algerian Department of Justice had released 2 629 former
terrorists who have benefited from the latest amnesty (Winter 2007). Although
a number of former fighters made use of the government’s reconciliation offer,
others returned to the ranks of the GSPC or became involved in crime syndicates.
The main reason may have been unemployment and limited re-education – in
the same way as in Egypt with reference to al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya. These
complaints were, for example, summarised in a letter signed by repentants:
From the day we came down [from the mountains] until today, we have
not seen any social reintegration or the civil and social rights that we
had been promised. We have no jobs, no residence and no passport. If
any one of us gets a passport, he will be barred from leaving the country
because he came down from the mountain (…) Because our situations
became more difficult, some of us managed to get loans while some
others, who form the majority, did not succeed. What do we do? Should
we beg [for money] at mosques? Or should we commit robbery and
theft? You have already heard that the security forces nabbed a group
of criminals, including two repentant jihadists, in Meftah [in southern
Algiers] and you also heard of the robbery against a financial institution
in Ber Khadem [southern Algiers suburb] carried out by several persons,
including a former Islamist (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dy).
Despite a need from ordinary Algerians to end the bloody conflict, victims and
concerned citizens have reported that individuals who previously made use of
the reconciliation process – commonly referred to as ‘repentants’ – had either
returned to violence or had established recruitment or support networks.
For example, the suicide bombing in Batna on 6 September 2007 focused
attention on the success of the Algerian government’s reconciliation efforts.
On 20 September 2007, a repentant known as Z Walid was arrested in Batna.
According to information, Walid coordinated and assisted in the execution
of the attack through helping Haouari Belzrag, the suicide bomber, to reach
the city centre from the forests near Tazoult City (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007dz). Walid also recruited four youths from Kchida and six others
from Park Afourage to join the insurgency in Iraq through the GSPC/AQLIM
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ea). Even Larbi Charef who was identified
as the suicide bomber in the 11 December attack on the Constitutional
Council building was released after he was arrested in 2004 for being part of
a logistical support network. After his release in the reconciliation process,
Charef left for the mountains to return in the 11 December attacks (Dow
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Jones International News 2007c). According to the Algerian government on
7 October 2007, of the 6 000 former combatants who had made use of the
reconciliation processes, some 20 had taken up arms again – a figure that is
questioned (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007eb).
Exclusion from future political participation not only re-affirms the one-sided
approach, but it is also counter-productive for dealing with all concerns.
In September 2007, Ali Belhaj was brought before the court for ‘attacking
the security of the state, attacking the person of the president, insulting the
military institution, and offering an apology for terrorism’ after he had made
the following statement:
[T]he military institution should be cleansed of these criminals and
killers who comprise it such as the army corps general, as well as
those who are in retirement, such as General Toufik, and others even
more numerous who should be tried. I am not talking about people,
but about those who lead the army, those who were responsible
for the young conscripts, who were sent into the mountains to get
themselves killed whereas their children are kept warm at home. I
am even asking for an investigation into the wealth of these generals
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ec).
In addition to Algeria, Morocco has also initiated a campaign of royal pardons
for model prisoners, that also included individuals previously suspected
of being involved in terrorism. Especially in the aftermath of the bombing
in Casablanca in 2003, King Mohammed VI pardoned a large number of
prisoners during the religious holidays. The case of individuals directly
involved in the suicide bombing in March 2007, as well as subsequent
arrests, has placed a question-mark on this strategy:
•
Abdelfettah Raydi, who was responsible for the suicide bombing on 11
March 2007, had been granted a royal pardon in 2005 – two years into a
five-year sentence for his alledged lesser role in the 2003 bombings
•
Abdellatif Amrine, jailed in 2003 for his suspected role as reserve bomber
in a Casablanca suicide attack, was handed a 30-year prison sentence but
released in 2005 due to ill health under a royal pardon for 164 extremists.
After the March 2007 bombing, Amrine was re-arrested (Reuters 2007q)
•
In March 2007 Moroccan police arrested seven former Islamist prisoners
previously given a royal pardon and seized 200 kg of bomb-making
material, linked with Abdelfettah Raydi (AFP 2007w)
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Essentially, the initiatives presented have provided a platform for discussion.
They should, however, not be seen as a stand-alone strategy. In the case of
Algeria, it will be important to address the underlying causes of the conflict
– with particular reference to political exclusion. Secondly, the process
has, as mentioned, blamed only one of the parties to the conflict. Instead,
the process should as far as possible be conducted objectively – and, if
necessary, with foreign assistance (for example the United Nations). In the
case of Morocco, the government resorted to royal pardons in an attempt
to counter growing radicalisation among individuals who were not directly
involved in the 2003 Casablanca attacks. Unfortunately, the arrest and
conviction of individuals who had not been directly involved had placed a
question-mark over the security forces and the criminal justice system. This
situation will be discussed later in the chapter.
Socio-economic restructuring
Poor socio-economic conditions are not a source of terrorism, but they can
create favourable circumstances for the radicalisation of individuals. A number
of factors have influenced and contributed to the radicalisation process. In the
case of socio-economic conditions, radicalisation takes place predominantly in
urban areas where people confronted with poor socio-economic conditions
can see no solution and ultimately become desperate and detached.
One might argue that a person with nothing to lose can be more easily
influenced than a person who has everything to live for. Table 2 summarises
the basic economic challenges. In Algeria an estimated 75 per cent of young
Table 2: Selected socio-economic indicators for Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Algeria
Morocco
Tunisia
32 930 091
(2006)
33 241 259
(2006)
10 175 014
(2006)
Unemployment
22,5%
(2005)
10,5%
(2005)
13,5%
(2005)
Population below the poverty line
25%
(2005)
19%
(2005)
7,4%
(2005)
GDP real growth rate
6%
(2005)
1,8%
(2005)
4,3%
(2005)
Population
Source: CIA World Factbook 2007
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people under 30 are unemployed (New Zealand Press Association 2007). In
Morocco, on the other hand, it is estimated that of 30 million people, 14 per
cent live below the poverty line and over 40 per cent are illiterate.
Suicide bombers who died in the 2003 Casablanca bombings included
Mohammed Mhani, Abdelfattah Bouliqdan, Khalid Benmoussa and Adil
Taich. However, Mohammed El Omari, a suicide bomber who survived,
as well as three who changed their minds at the last minute – Rachid Jalil,
Yassine Lahnech and Hassan Taousi (sentenced to death). Of importance
in this discussion is that all those who were directly involved in the attacks
came from Sidi Moumen, one of Casablanca’s slums. Living in indescribably
harsh conditions, where illiteracy and unemployment are rife, is also a
common denominator for those drawn to crime and narcotics.
However, not all those living in these conditions will turn to extremism.
Indeed, many family members condemned the attacks, indicating that
additional elements (over and above poor socio-economic conditions) are
needed for potential terrorists to be radicalised. It may be important to note
that the radicalisation process was often not gradual; instead, reference
was made to six months, during which those involved became extremely
religious. In summary, poor socio-economic conditions in the slum areas in
Casablanca contributed to favourable recruitment conditions in the case of
Morocco, summarised in the following ‘profile’:
(…) people who are likely to be attracted by these movements [Salafia
Jihadia] are the ones who rebel against bad social and economical
conditions; those who have a weak educational background; those
who lack religious knowledge; and those who have problems in
dealing with the outside world (Rhamen 2005).
During the second anniversary of the Casablanca bombings in May 2005,
King Mohammed unveiled a development plan expected to cost one billion
dirhams ($114,3 million) a year (Dick 2005). The development plan intends
to develop slums, addressing poor socio-economic conditions as a root
cause behind radicalisation.
Notwithstanding this plan, the suicide bombing in Sidi Moumen, Casablanca,
in March 2007 reaffirmed the role of poverty and desperation in driving
ordinary people to extremism. For example, Abdelfattaf Raydi, the eldest of
seven children, is said to have slept on the street to give space to his mother
and six siblings in a two by three metre room. Raydi dropped out of school
after his father left the family (Abdennebi 2007).
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Addressing socio-economic desperation in slum areas, Moroccan authorities
in the aftermath of the 2003 Casablanca bombings initiated a process of
development. Unfortunately, this is a slow process, but it gathered renewed
interest after the March 2007 bombings. A week after the 11 March 2007
incident, the Moroccan government initiated the first phase of demolition –
some 120 homes in Douar Skouila. It is estimated that some 2 000 dwellings
will be pulled down (AFP 2007x).
Tunisia serves as a success story in countering terrorism through socioeconomic development. Recognising that extremism and terrorism are
also the products of social and economic conditions, Tunisia has waged a
campaign to improve the Tunisian quality of life. Economically, it has been a
successful strategy: during the 1990s Tunisia had the most powerful economy
in North Africa, with a growth rate of five per cent. It has the highest per
capita income in North Africa, which is a significant accomplishment for
a country without oil resources. The country has high education standards
and high home-ownership rates (75 per cent) and is the most computerised
country on the continent (with South Africa second) (Versi 2001). In the
aftermath of the shooting incidents in December 2006 and January 2007,
President Ben Ali reconfirmed his government’s commitment to address one
of the underlying factors encouraging radicalisation: the high unemployment
for the country’s youth. In March 2007, President Ben Ali stated: ‘The
employment of young people, particularly university graduates, will always
rank first among our priorities, prompting us to devise further ways and
means to create more jobs and enhance private initiative’ (Reuters 2007r).
Since poor socio-economic conditions did not drive extremism in Tunisia,
one can again reach the conclusion that poor socio-economic conditions are
not the only reason for, or development the only answer to, radicalisation. An
integrated approach founded on individual domestic realities should form the
foundation of a counter radicalisation and counter-terrorism strategy.
Education
Tunisia was particularly successful in resorting to education to overcome
poverty. It is estimated that 80 per cent of Tunisians are considered to be
middle-class citizens with per capita incomes of at least US$3 000. Around 78
per cent of Tunisian families own their own homes. Additionally, the poverty
rate decreased from 33 per cent in 1967 to 3,9 per cent in 2006. At the heart
of this success is the country’s focus on education, particularly science and
engineering. As in Morocco’s case, Tunisia places such emphasis on equal
opportunities for women that the number of female students in 2006 reached
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53 per cent in the case of secondary education and 58 per cent in the case of
higher education in 2006. In addition, 48 per cent of secondary school teachers
are women and 40 per cent of university teachers are women (Anjaiah 2007).
While this progress would have been remarkable for any country, Tunisia’s
situation may ironically prove favourable for extremists. The reason – described
by a security expert with whom the author met during a visit to Tunis in May
and June 2007 – is that the primary educational focus is on science and
technology, and on ‘black and white’ facts. This has led to a situation where
children and young adults are seldom taught to question. Consequently,
when confronted with philosophical questions, they are at a loss, making
them extremely susceptible to a world categorised as being ‘black and white’,
religiously ‘right and wrong’ or ‘us versus them’. Ultimately, the defence to
radicalisation is not education per se (considering that terrorists are often not
uneducated), but rather the quality and type of education. While education
is essential in assuring a better future, students also need to learn from other
disciplines, such as social sciences, history and philosophy, to equip them to
be open to other opinions, to argue intellectually and to understand domestic
and international realities. Starting not at university level but at pre-school
level, understanding diversity will be effective as part of a medium- to longterm strategy in preventing radicalisation and terrorism.
Religious control
Religion had always been a powerful tool in the hands of those who have
managed to control it. Throughout history both governments and individuals
have been caught in this power trap. Religious justification to rule or to
implement policies is common, especially in the Muslim world. Muslim
countries firmly oppose the exploitation of Islam for political purposes and
its use as a pretext to perpetuate acts of terrorism. However, in an attempt to
protect their own rule, such countries often show little respect for other liberties,
including freedom of speech and association, and suppress these liberties in
their own communities. While Muslim governments adopt legislation to ban
the formation of political parties based on religion, the same Muslim countries
often use religion, through their control of the religious establishment, to justify
their rule and decisions. This is clearly a source of frustration, violence and
even of terrorism. It is, however, an unfortunate reality that a mosque or a
prayer room can and will be abused to spread messages of violence and hatred
simply because they are places where people meet. The Ministry of Awqaf
(religious endowments) was founded in Muslim countries in an attempt to
control the official religious establishment and the message they are delivering.
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That ultimately had a number of consequences or questions, such as: what is
the true level of control? Where is the control established?
As small groups or prayer groups are beyond the reach of governments, when
governments drive small groups of people with extreme opinions underground,
they find it difficult to decide on the best strategy. Bringing diverse and extreme
opinions into the open might provide an opportunity for religious authorities
to engage with and be aware of the local sentiment, but it might also lead to
the spread of extreme opinions. On the other hand, restricting the intellectual
space might drive extremists underground and lead to further isolation
and extremism, but it will also deprive both the religious and the security
establishments of the opportunity of being aware of public sentiments.
We noted in the introduction that in the relationship between the
government or the state-system and religion, Islamic extremists believe that
the establishment of an Islamist system of government is not merely an option
but a requirement: governments and individuals who fail to follow Islamic
law are not regarded as being Muslim, which provides sufficient grounds for
a legitimate jihad. Opposition to illegitimate governments also extends to
the official religious establishments that are ‘used’ to legitimate government
policies and actions.
To rectify this state of affairs, extremists began to call on Muslims to reject the
established religious authority, with the result that governments (which are
often regarded as illegitimate) control the religious establishment primarily for
the following political reasons:
•
To provide credibility or legitimacy to the government
•
To excuse the behaviour of the government
•
As a strategy to counter religious opposition from the local community
To limit criticism on the assumption that the official religious authority will
not issue statements contradicting the government for fear of being replaced;
and therefore limiting the possibility of objectivity and representation.
These factors should be taken into consideration in the following discussion
dealing with the relationship between mosques and politics. Originally the
role of the mosque in the traditional Muslim society is twofold. The first and
primary role relates to worship, and second relates to other social activities in
creating a sense of community.
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But why do governments consider it necessary to control religious activities
directly or indirectly by controlling mosques or the official religious
establishment? The answer is that mosques traditionally are the centre for
community activities and ideas. Controlling or monitoring activities at local
mosques is thus an important political and strategic security strategy for a
number of governments, especially if their legitimacy is being questioned.
On the other hand, Islamic revivalism and Islamist extremists make use of
mosques as centres for their activities, spreading ideas across all segments
of society. Islamists realised the value of mosques as places where they
can express their political and ideological interpretation and as places in
which to recruit new followers. In theory, registered mosques are under
the strict control of the government and are prohibited from being used for
anti-government or extremist ideology. Although the majority observe this
ban, the unfortunate situation is that mosques continue to be used. This is
especially so in the case of private mosques in politically vibrant areas.
In Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the influence over the ulama – the official
religious establishment – is also restricted through the restructuring of state
institutions, new programmes and control over their financial resources.
The aim of this strategy is to reduce any potential opposition, including
criticism, through the establishment of a Ministry of Religious Endowments
and Islamic Affairs. This ministry also controls the functioning and operation
of state mosques, it appoints and pays personnel. Although the construction
of private mosques is allowed, all sermons and speeches are carefully
monitored by civil servants (Shahin 1997:51).
As an important consequence of state involvement in religious affairs, the
ulama gradually began to lose their influence at local level in representing
the opinions of particularly the younger generation, especially on hard
issues such as domestic political challenges, the ‘war on terrorism’ and
Iraq. As the ulama came to be regarded as an extension of government
control, a void was created for extremist elements as the ulama’s more
moderate approach may present a different message, often reflecting public
sentiment. As Muslim communities are being divided between moderates
and extremists, or older and younger generations, conflict becomes directed
against both the religious establishment and the political authority. Possible
political or secular ‘conflict’ is thus transformed into a religious struggle
with political consequences.
In the aftermath of the 8 September 2007 suicide attack in Dellys it
became apparent that mosques in Bab El-Oued in Algiers were infiltrated
by extremist elements. For example, Sheikh Amine, of the El Ouafa Bil Ahd
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mosque in Kouba, Algiers, was arrested after a number of young people
who surrendered to the authorities implicated Sheikh Amine as having
encouraged them to join the ranks of GSPC/AQLIM and to participate in
the insurgency in Iraq. Sheikh Amine was also implicated as the person
responsible for radicalising Nabil Belkacemi and the 15 suicide bombers
in the Dellys attack. According to family members – and even then in
retrospect – the radicalisation of Belkacemi took place over a period of
five months. In addition to the Appreval mosque, the Ettahdhib mosque
in Mostaganem was also indicted during the same period for delivering
an extreme interpretation of Islam (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007ed).
In addition to the radicalisation of young people, Sheikh Amine was also
implicated in the radicalisation of three of the four suicide bombers involved
in the attacks on 11 April and July, including Merouane Boudina alias Maad
Benjabel (involved in the 11 April attacks), all three from the Bachjdjarah
and Bourouba neighbourhoods regularly attended the Appreval mosque
(BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2007ee).
Subsequent investigations revealed that in addition to the message delivered
at a few mosques in the city, approximately 15 unauthorised prayer rooms
were operational in Algiers. Religious Affairs Minister Ghlamallah gave the
following explanation:
A prayer room is a place designed to welcome people to say prayers.
When a neighbourhood or a municipality lacks a mosque, and solely
in that case, we allow a prayer room to be opened so as not to
penalise residents. But beforehand the permission of the province’s
religious affairs directorate must be obtained.
Although the state has appointed 300 inspectors to monitor activities
at official mosques, the fact that there are 14 500 mosques in Algeria
makes it doubtful that the religious affairs ministry could claim that it has
control over the situation (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ef). On 7
November 2007, in an attempt to counter radicalisation at mosques, this
ministry proposed an ‘anti-suicide bomber’ programme. According to this
programme, all religious and cultural institutions need to be mobilised as
‘relay stations’ to listen to the preoccupations of the youth (BBC Monitoring
Middle East, 2007eg).
Although a number of elements influenced the isolated suicide incidents
during 2007 in Morocco, these incidents may have been limited to
individuals radicalised in small groups and predominantly influenced by the
internet, mass media and the war in Iraq. On the other hand, the Casablanca
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bombings of 2003 reaffirmed that through unofficial mosques in slums and
poor neighbourhoods, where high unemployment and despair among the
young are common, radical preachers have access to an audience that can
be manipulated. Before the Casablanca bombings, the Moroccan authorities
had initiated a campaign to shut down unauthorised mosques and to ban
bookshops, tapes and CDs propagating an extreme interpretation of Islam.
Notwithstanding these measures, the Moroccan government was not able
to prevent the 2003 suicide attacks, and it may indeed even have helped to
provoke them. Ultimately the question remains: does the official religious
establishment represent ordinary people, particularly the younger generation,
or are they regarded as being out of touch with reality?
Further empathising with the notion of modernisation, the Moroccan
government initiated a campaign in which women have been given new
responsibilities in mosques, in the form of principally religious teaching on
the lines of female imams (murchidates). This initiative, which was introduced
after the 2003 bombings and in response to Salafist extremism, has the full
support of the Justice and Development Party, which would like to see
the number of murchidates increased from 50 to 200 (Kristianasen 2007).
Although more directed at female followers, the impact of this initiative is
unclear, or at least it is too early to analyse its impact.
Counter-terrorism investigations and the spread of radicalisation
Countries in the region realise the importance of a holistic strategy to prevent
and combat terrorism. It is equally important to decide on the most viable
strategy based on an analysis of the threat. For example, during the 1990s
and until the GSPC began to lose massive public support – when fully
functioning insurgent structures were operational – the military apparatus
proved most successful in an almost conventional military approach. This
strategy included intense bombing of, for example, forested areas. As part of
this strategy, large areas are cordoned off, bombed and searched. Although
this approach still continues when groups of terrorists have been spotted,
the role of intelligence and the police in dealing with small cells and support
structures in an urban environment is crucial.
Most challenging is that new operatives are young with no previous criminal
record or alignment to terrorist groups. Nevertheless, the Algerian security
forces had a number of successes during the course of 2007. For example
in the aftermath of the attacks on 11 April 2007, security forces arrested
Al-Zubair Abu-Sajidah, one of the would-be suicide bombers, who in turn
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identified two other suspects who were arrested four days later. These two
had participated directly in preparing and carrying out the attacks that
targeted the prime minister’s office and a police station in Bab el-Zouar.
Although the identity of the suspects were not released, security forces
indicated that one of those arrested was the brother of a terrorist killed in
the operation in which Sayid Ali Rachide, alias Ali Dix, the military adviser
to Abdelmalek Droukdel and the mastermind behind the 11 April and 11 July
suicide attacks in Algiers and Lakhdaria, and his assistant, Nour Mohamed,
alias Haroune El-Esh’ashi, were eliminated. The investigations also revealed
that B Ali, who supplied members of GSPC/AQLIM with money to buy a
Toyota truck, headed the cell. The truck was used in the Lakhdaria attack
after it had been booby-trapped (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007eh).
Notwithstanding the fact that the extent of Algeria’s counter-terrorism strategy
cannot be fully analysed, it is understandable that Algeria’s experience
with terrorism is very different from that of the other countries under
review. Essentially, Algeria’s experience provides valuable lessons. Initially,
as explained by Prime Minister Ouyahia on 21 January 1998, the primary
objective of the government’s campaign against terrorism under the state of
emergency was to ‘fight, resist and eradicate terrorist groups on the ground,
and to protect economic installations, administrative buildings and citizens
throughout the country’ (BBC Monitoring the Middle East 1998a).
According to Algerian officials, the country’s broad counter-terrorism strategy
was aimed at achieving four main objectives:
•
Mobilising the population against terrorist groups through sensitisation
and information
•
Countering the formation of formal as well as informal support networks
•
Getting terrorists away from cities and urban centres
•
Confining terrorists to uninhabited areas and neutralising them
Tactical implementation consisted of:
•
Securing the urban area and its surroundings by intensifying enquiries
with the assistance of the Patriots
•
Enhancing cooperation among the security forces, the gendarmerie, the
military units of the ANP, and the Patriots
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
•
Protecting social, economic and cultural structures by setting up specific
regulations, including the possibility of bringing in private security and
district watch bodies
•
Securing rural and isolated populations through the creation of selfdefence groups working in coordination with proximity police and
deployed military units
•
Exerting constant pressure on terrorist groups by carrying out intelligence
and search and destroy operations
Reference to the role of the public as one of the primary role-players in an
effective counter-terrorism strategy is an essential lesson learned from the Algerian
experience. Although confronted by a very different reality, excluding the public
as a valuable resource and source of information would be a mistake since it
would deprive security forces of access to local knowledge. In the Algerian
case, the Patriots, who represented the locals, proved to be efficient in knowing
the territory and locals. While it is easier to establish access in rural areas with
the assistance of local resolve, intelligence-driven operations in cosmopolitian
cities are more challenging when radicalisation takes place on an individual
level around people not always interested in the lives of their neighbours. Since
then, terrorist activities have substantially decreased and the terrorists have had
to change their tactics by resorting to indiscriminate suicide bombings – and the
public have again been called on to help deal with this threat.
Mass arrests
Historically, mass arrest campaigns have proved counter-productive. Kepel
(2003:258) summarises the impact that massive imprisonment had on
radicalisation in the early period of the conflict in Algeria. In an attempt to
deal with growing radicalisation, the Algerian military ‘arrested more than
40 000 people and sent them to camps deep in the Sahara. For a while
the military seemed to have the situation under control, but before long this
massive relocation had an unforeseen consequence. The sympathisers and
militants who had been removed and concentrated became much more
radical while in custody, and by the time they were released (beginning in the
summer of 1992) they were willing recruits for the armed insurgent groups’.
Although a similar trend was detected in Morocco after the Casablanca
bombings, prosecuting and convicting the right people – and dealing with
them so that they will turn away from extremism and influence others in the
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same way – remains a challenge, especially for the three countries under
review. Despite the tragic bombings in Casablanca in May 2003, Morocco’s
counter-terrorism operations, and particularly its mass arrest campaign,
proved to be a source of serious concern. In particular:
•
Moroccan courts have charged 2 112 suspected radical Islamists under
anti-terrorism laws with terrorist activity since the 16 May 2003 bombings
in Casablanca
•
Of this number, no fewer than 1 126 were associated with the bombings
•
Of this number, more than 80 per cent, or 903, received sentences, with
a total of 17 death sentences being handed down (AFP 2004h)
Charges often included: ‘forming a criminal gang in order to prepare for and
carry out terrorist acts’; ‘being a member of a non-recognised association’;
‘holding public gatherings without authorisation’; ‘attacking sacred values’. In
addition, Morocco’s expenditure on security has increased by 23 per cent,
with the aim of increasing the recruitment of security officials, raising salaries
and purchasing new equipment and premises (AFP 2004i).
According to a report by the DGED, Morocco’s secret service, approximately
2 000 ‘terrorist elements’ are under surveillance in Morocco. This suggests
that Islamist rebels still pose a threat to the kingdom. A study by the DST –
the country’s territorial surveillance directorate – published in the Al Ahdath
al-Maghribia newspaper confirmed that some 2 000 suspects were under
constant surveillance while another 1 000 were in jail. The study showed
that a majority of those under surveillance had similar social backgrounds to
those of the Casablanca bombers, with 13 per cent unemployed and the rest
doing odd jobs. Most of them lived in Casablanca, Fez, Rabat and Tangiers
(Reuters 2004e).
Surveillance and repressive measures kept extremist groups divided so that
although these might have been successful in preventing the formation of a
unified organisation, they contributed to the formation of smaller cell structures
that are more difficult to infiltrate and monitor. Since 2003, as discussed in an
earlier chapter, the Moroccan security forces identified a number of ad hoc
structures and threats, supporting the theory that mass arrests and a closed
judicial system may contribute to the detention of a growing number of people.
In addition to the arrest of a number of members of organised cells, arrests
of individuals were still constantly being made. The security forces seldom
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reveal any information about their arrests of individuals. Perhaps the only key
is that individuals usually receive short sentences. For example:
•
Mohamed Abartikh and Hamid Kachkouch, both from Meknes, were
sentenced to two years each after being found guilty in Sale on 27
July 2007 of ‘forming a criminal gang to plan and carry out terror acts;
participating in an unlicensed group; and holding public meetings
without prior consent’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ei)
•
Alaa Mortazak, from Casablanca, also received a two-year sentence at
the same hearing after being found guilty of ‘forming a criminal gang to
plan and carry out terror acts; participating in an unlicensed group; and
holding public meetings without prior consent’ (BBC Monitoring Middle
East 2007ei)
•
Brahim Skakri, who was born in Casablanca, was sentenced to three
years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of ‘forming a criminal gang
in order to prepare for and carry out terrorist acts aimed at harming
public order; carrying out activities within a non-recognised association;
and holding non-authorised public gatherings’. He was also condemned
for his involvement in the attacks in Casablanca on 16 May 2003 (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007ej)
•
Khalid Belkhayat (21), alias Abu Hanifa, who was arrested in January 2007,
was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for ‘forming a criminal gang
in order to prepare for and carry out terrorist acts; carrying out activities
within a non-recognised association; and holding non-authorised public
gatherings’ (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ej)
•
In December 2007, the anti-terrorism court in Sale sentenced 15 people
in three separate cases to between one and four years in jail. Seven of
these, who were convicted in connection with the May 2003 bombings in
Casablanca, were sentenced to one or two years’ imprisonment. Although
the reasons were not known, the fact that seven suspects were convicted
in relation to a crime that had occurred four years before may be of some
concern. In a separate case, seven people were each sentenced to four years
in jail for planning to receive military training before participating in the war
in Iraq. The 15th person, a Moroccan extradited from Algeria, was sentenced
to two years’ imprisonment (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ek)
Unfortunately, radicalisation takes place in prison, and someone prosecuted
for a relatively minor offence seldom returns as the same person. This trend
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is however not limited to extremists, but also include the radicalisation
of individuals incarcerated for normal criminal offences. As a result of
overcrowded prison conditions, only a small number of countries are able
and equipped to separate individuals with extreme ideas from the broader
prison population. Subsequently extremists while in prison often convert
criminals or further radicalise those individuals implicated in being involved
in lesser terrorism-related offences. It should also be noted that this is not a
new trend.
Notwithstanding statements from Moroccan security forces that the suicide
bombings of March and April 2007 had been isolated incidents, some 51
people had been arrested by 8 November 2007 for their alleged involvement
in these bombings. Most of those arrested had no links with the perpetrators
– who were referred to as members of the Abdelfettah Raydi group, a Salafia
Jihadia cell, from Casablanca, Mohammedia, El Gara, Kenitra and Agadir
(BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007el).
In Tunisia, the human rights league claimed that approximately 1 000
Tunisians were arrested on charges of violating the country’s anti-terror law
between its adoption in 2003 and September 2007 (AFP 2007k). Amnesty
International accused Tunisia of cracking down too hard on legitimate
political dissent. Prior to 9/11 and the renewed international commitment to
combat terrorism, Amnesty International accused the Tunisian government
of imprisoning some 2 000 people ‘who had dared to speak out’. This
organisation’s statement alleged that ‘various forms of harassment’ were
being used ‘to punish, intimidate and silence political opponents, government
critics, journalists and others’. The government did not deny that wiretapping
was widespread and that there had been arrests, but it said that dissidents
in prison were preaching hate, which in Tunisia is a crime equal to terrorism
(Kole 1996).
According to Amnesty International’s 2004 report, Tunisia’s new anti-terrorism
legislation contains a very broad definition of ‘terrorism’, leaving it open to
wide interpretation, which could further undermine human rights. There
was concern that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression could be
considered an act of ‘terrorism’ and therefore lead to long sentences after
unfair trials. The law allows for the extension for an undefined period of pretrial detention, and lacks safeguards in relation to people facing extradition to
countries where they could face serious human rights violations.
Existing provisions of Tunisian legislation on terrorism, especially Article 123
of the Military Justice Code and Article 52 of the Penal Code, have been used
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to criminalise peaceful opposition activities. One case was the arrest of 30
suspected members of the Tunisian Youth for Unity and Jihad, which claimed
responsibility for the clashes with security forces on 23 December 2006
and 3 January 2007 (Reuters 2007s). In another case, a Tunisian court on 24
January 2007 convicted eight Tunisians on terrorism-related charges (Dow
Jones International News 2007m):
•
Six of the men were convicted of attempting to join a terror group and
recruiting for the group on Tunisian soil. The court handed down fiveyear sentences to four of the men, a seven-year sentence to another and
nine years in prison to another
•
The prosecution alleged that the men – from the region of Bizerte, 70 km
north of Tunis – were planning to travel to neighbouring Algeria to join
the GSPC
•
Another man, from the border town of Ghardimaou, was convicted
of smuggling people into Algeria. The man acknowledged that he had
helped people cross the border illegally, but said he had no ties with the
GSPC. He was given the lightest sentence of four years imprisonment
•
In a separate case, the court sentenced another man to seven years in
prison on charges of financing terrorism. The man acknowledged that he
gave a friend 60 dinars, but said he didn’t know the friend was planning
to travel to Algeria to join the GSPC
Balancing the threat of terrorism and counter-terrorism initiatives and
strategies is very delicate – particularly as a ‘wrong’ counter-terrorism strategy
can ultimately lead to further radicalisation and terrorism.
Alliance with non-state actors in countering terrorism – Tuareg
In countering the growing influence of GSPC/AQLIM, the Algerian government
has found an unexpected ally in the form of the Tuareg in Mali and Niger.
Despite the assistance, analysts questioned whether a possible alignment
with the Tuareg will be possible, especially considering the growing spread of
Wahabbi influence from Saudi Arabia and clerics from Pakistan, in addition to
the Tuareg’s alignment with criminal networks and acts of violence directed
at the Mali and Niger governments. Ultimately in supporting non-state actors,
the Algerian government might end up undermining the authority of the
governments of Mali and Niger.
Anneli Botha
195
Notwithstanding these allegations, Tuareg rebels have clashed with the
GSPC in the Mali desert on a number of occasions in the past few years –
considering them as an enemy that attracts unnecessary attention to their
smuggling networks. As a result of growing tension, the Algerian government
decided to act as a mediator in July 2006. Unfortunately, despite the official
agreement mediated by Algeria, tensions between the Tuareg, also known
as Azawad, and the Mali government escalated. Complicating the situation
is the fact that during 2007 the Tuareg stepped up their attacks against
government forces from the mountainous Adrar des Isforhas region north of
Kidal in Mali and from Agadez in Niger. Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, the leader of
the Tuareg in Mali, launched attacks against military positions in Tinzaouaten
(BBC Monitoring Africa 2007a).
In Niger, the Niger Movement for Justice attacked the town of Iferouane
near Agadez in February in a new campaign of violence. At the heart of
the conflict has been the Taureg’s demand for a fair share of the country’s
uranium reserves. In Mali, fighters loyal to Ibrahima Bahanga, a former
member of Democratic Alliance for Change, abducted about 20 soldiers in
a remote town near the Niger border in late August, which proved to be the
first of a series of attacks on military targets. In September the fighters shot
at a US military cargo plane which was re-supplying Malian soldiers in TinZaouatene (Reuters 2007t).
Despite the practical role, these rebel movements could play a positive role in
countering the influence of GSPC/AQLIM. For a state to negotiate and equip a
rebel group in a neighbouring state could be legally problematical, as previously
experienced in the extradition of Saifi Amari, alias Abderrezak El Para, from
Chad. While the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT) captured
El Para, the Algerian government refused to negotiate directly with the MDJT in
respect of international law. Subsequently Libya acted as mediator. Before the
arrest of Abderrezak El Para, the MDJT had also captured captured Bilal and
Mustapha, alias Noureddien Griga, whom they handed over to Libya, which
refused to deport them to Algeria (BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004i).
In September 2006, the Tuareg also clashed with the GSPC near the Algerian
border, killing a senior commander close to Mokhtar Belmokhtar. This clash
was a revenge attack after a clash between the GSPC and the Tuareg near
the village of Arouan, 150 km from Kidal (Tattersall 2006).
Further enhancing an alignment with the Tuareg rebels in Mali, special police
units to combat terrorism and weapons trafficking are allegedly being formed.
Algeria further helped establish a camp in Kidal, where approximately 3 000
196
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Tuareg troops will undergo training. This agreement forms part of a peace
deal between the Tuareg and the Malian government that was mediated by
Algeria before hostilities resumed in 2007 between Tuareg rebels and the
governments of Mali and Niger (AP 2007e).
In addition to the Tuareg in Mali and Niger and the MDJT in Chad, the
Polisario Front, based in Tindouf in southwest Algeria, serves as another
example of the possible role of non-state actors in combating terrorism. The
Western Sahara situation (Polisario Front) proved to be a stumbling block
in relations between the Moroccan and Algerian governments. Building
on existing terrorism sentiments, the Moroccan government accused the
Polisario of having links with al-Qa’eda, an allegation vigorously denied
by members of the Polisario Front interviewed by the author during a visit
to Tindouf in May 2007. Rejecting claims from Morocco, they asked for
one example of a member of the Polisario Front or an individual from the
Western Sahara having been involved in an al-Qa’eda operation – comparing
its situation with the many cases in which Moroccans had been implicated in
al-Qa’eda operations.
An essential component of all these examples is the question of control over
territories by the particular governments mentioned. All countries in the region
are surrounded by vague and sometimes non-existent borders, nomadic
caravan routes and the inability of governments to control movements across
their borders. Introducing mobile training camps and other possible alternatives
sounds more acceptable and is a topic increasingly being debated.
Cooperation between countries
The growing threat of transnational terrorism in the region requires states to
cooperate in preventing and combating terrorism. Unfortunately the reality
is more challenging than dealing with a common enemy. Despite good
relationships between Algeria and Tunisia, relations between Algeria and
Morocco are more challenging, to the extent that during a meeting in April
2007 Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya adopted a new system
of coordination among their intelligence agencies, thus sidestepping bilateral
political differences that challenged security cooperation.
The meeting of practitioners included: Ali Tounsi, the general director of
security in Algeria; Chergui Drais, from Morocco; Abdessatar Benour, the
director general of security in Tunisia; Nasir al-Mabruk Abdallah, the secretary
of the People’s Committee for Public Security in Libya; and Muhammad
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197
Ould Sheikh Mohamed Ahmed, the director of security in Mauritania (BBC
Monitoring Middle East 2007em).
During an Interpol meeting in Marrakesh in November 2007 it was decided
that security coordination between Morocco and Algeria would be conducted
through the Interpol central offices in the two countries (BBC Monitoring
Middle East 2007en). Despite the fact that Algeria and Morocco continued
to work together on security related issues (particularly on a tactical level)
– despite the political challenges between the two countries – this initiative
was seen as an additional proposal to strengthen cooperation.
Conclusion
In summary, counter-terrorism is high on the agenda of all three countries.
How to deal with a growing, if not new threat, introduces a number of
challenges. Notwithstanding the short-term need to address the immediate
threat, the three countries under review – no less than other countries
throughout the world – need to develop and implement medium- to longterm strategies, particularly addressing the root causes of terrorism and
radicalisation. Compared with Algeria, whose economy is visibly growing,
Morocco and Tunisia are at a different level of socio-economic development.
Notwithstanding this, all three countries need to revisit the need for
constructive political reform, as well as building a stronger relationship,
based on trust, between the state and its people.
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
The historical development – and particularly the underlying factors influencing
their development – of the fundamentalist and extremist organisations in
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia reflect similar trends:
•
The risk of political violence and terrorism is greater in countries where
the political system is perceived as illegitimate, corrupt and removed
from the ordinary citizen. Of special importance is the inability to transfer
political power through an acceptable political process. Freedom within
the political process is also a reflection of the level of activities political
opponents are ‘allowed’ to operate, without the involvement of the
governing political party or the security forces. Equally citizens should
be aware and respect the responsibilities that accompany basic freedoms
associated with civil liberties and democracy. Without developing a
culture of respecting the same basic freedoms of the other members of
society, democratic principles will only be abused – leading to another
negative. The sudden opening up of the political landscape in Algeria
before the 1991 elections serve as an example to this effect
•
In addition to political legitimacy, the type of education can also
influence radicalisation. In all three countries the main motivation could
be summarised as a deep devotion to a political, social or religious cause.
When freedom of expression and other civil liberties are protected,
there are non-violent ways to express this devotion. Unfortunately, civil
liberties are often the first casualty in the fight against terrorism, which
is ironic considering the argument that an absence of civil liberties
seems to be a main cause of terrorism – and particularly domestic
terrorism – around the world. Democratic governments are more lenient
towards dissent than are totalitarian or autocratic regimes, accepting it
as part of the political process. However, dissent might be more likely
in authoritarian countries although governments generally close other
avenues to legitimate opposition. Therefore dissent, including terrorism,
is more likely to be directed against authoritarian regimes that repress
or restrict opposition and official representation, than it is against
democratic regimes. Violence might not always be directed from within
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
the country but, as a result of driving people to leave the country, be
directed from outside the country
•
When young people, especially, are not allowed to express their opinions
they are likely to be more vulnerable to the radicalisation process. This
radicalisation is clearly visible in the growing conservatism of the youth,
which leads to a greater susceptibility to ideologies such as Salafism
•
International challenges and developments range from the Iranian
revolution – which provided the hope of replacing a tyrant with an Islamic
government and a framework of reference to Islamist groups all over the
world as a counter to Western democracy and Marxism – to the impact of
the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which has ideologically influenced all
the organisations referred to in this monograph – and the influence of the
growing strength of Israel in the region, including the earlier decision of
Israel to stay in Lebanon and unresolved Palestinian conflict
•
In the same way as the Iranian revolution, the success of the Afghan
Mujahideen against the Soviet Union gave pride to Islamist movements,
which used this experience as a framework of reference for replacing
current un-Islamic leaders with true Islamic governments. More recently,
the second Gulf war and the invasion of Afghanistan and Somalia (in
addition to the unresolved Palestinian question) further encouraged
the spread of frustration and radicalisation, and provided extremist
organisations with a new international philosophy beyond earlier
domestic challenges. These causes are also referred to and used in
justifying the need for Muslims to avenge the ‘war on terrorism’ as a ‘war
on Islam’ in their frame of reference
•
Algeria, and to a lesser extent Morocco and Tunisia, experienced the
impact of the war in Afghanistan and the return of the Afghan Mujahideen.
Afghanistan provided both a training ground to gain experience and a
common purpose to extremists throughout the world. Although Europe
to a greater extent experienced the impact of the conflict in Chechnya
and Bosnia – when the conflict in Algeria was at its height – the renewed
war in Iraq will provide a similar experience
•
An identity crisis – felt particularly by the younger generation – and
the realisation that Western systems do not address domestic and
international challenges, led to growing calls for a return to the principles
of Islam. These brought communities in conflict with governments, which
perceived these calls as a threat to their authority. Consequently, states
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201
often provided their own interpretations of religion and regulated their
religious establishments
•
Where socio-economic challenges led to the introduction of Marxism –
which was considered to be un-Islamic – a firm foothold was offered for
Islamic values
Despite the combination of factors listed in influencing extremism, including
radicalisation and terrorism, over a long period of time, it is essential to be
aware that a country’s domestic circumstances have always provided the
primary influence in the development of extremism in that country. Without
domestic causes, international contributory factors will influence individuals
only with difficulty.
Notwithstanding the similarities a number of differences were also identified
between the three countries: The most important of these is the fact that
all three countries have different political systems. The Algerian system, for
example, was the most vulnerable of the three, as in Morocco most groups
did not question the religious authority and legitimacy of the monarchy, and in
Tunisia there was an autocratic state that did not allow any form of dissent.
All three countries also reacted differently when the state and its security
forces were confronted with extremism and terrorism. Algeria initiated a
carrot-and-stick approach, offering amnesty and reconciliation, while those
not willing to accept it, were killed or prosecuted; however, the magnitude
of its problems make it difficult to compare Algeria with the other countries
in the region. Tunisia initiated a dual strategy: while addressing one of the
underlying factors, namely poor socio-economic conditions, the government
prosecuted those implicated in any form of instability by introducing what
most people would call a police state. Morocco, on the other hand, under
the leadership of King Hassan II, initiated a love-hate relationship by making
use of extremist groups when convenient but not allowing them to strengthen
their roles. They were tolerated as long as they stayed within the framework
of the rules, namely, not to question the authority of the king, not to question
the official Islam religious authority and to support Morocco’s authority over
the Western Sahara. King Mohammed VI also had a dual plan. On one hand
he was prepared to address the housing need and to clear the slums, while
on the other hand he was determined to destroy groups suspected of being
involved in undermining activities, extremism and terrorism.
Despite the differences, none of the countries was willing to address one
of the more important contributing factors, which was the introduction of
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
an open and fair political landscape. The ‘health of the political system’
also influenced the reaction of the particular state. The more vulnerable
the state, the more inclined it was to introduce harsh counter measures.
Governments were also willing to use Islamist groups to their advantage, for
example, during liberation to consolidate support or to counter the spread
of leftist policies, while disregarding and marginaling them when they are
not ‘needed’ or when they are not considered to be a threat to the political
authority.
With the GSPC/AQLIM alliance losing tremendous support among the
older generation and even among some of its former public supporters,
another split might be on the table – with a new organisation emerging to
target a new audience with a new focus. Although this new development
may represent an act of weakness in the realisation that the state has
strengthend its position compared with the early 1990s, the fact is that the
vision has indeed changed. With the war in Iraq and the conflict in Palestine
continuing – not to speak of future crises that may be able to be manipulated
– former domestic groups such as the GSPC will continue to move towards
transnational organisations, incorporating their strategy, modus operandi and
focus. Recruitment propaganda will still rely on twin perceptions that the war
on terrorism is a war on Islam, and that the only way to be politically heard is
through violence. Growing Islamophobia, strengthen by the perception that
the war on terrorism is a war on Islam, is further making it extremely difficult
for ordinary Muslims not to be caught in Islamists propaganda and the need
to defend their religion against a perceived Christian onslaught.
As a result, these and other groups will continue to grow – even if not in the
same way as the terror organisations of the past. For this reason, these groups
may become more dangerous. In contrast to the revolutionary organisations
that needed public support to exist, the modern jihadi organisations exist
according to their ability to attract attention. Essentially, the new groups will try
to capitalise on the perception that al-Qa’eda has the monopoly on terrorism.
The primary targets of the new groups will therefore be their own domestic
governments and the institutions of these governments. On the other hand,
states can make use of the al-Qa’eda branding to attract more public support.
By using the al-Qa’eda card, states can divert attention from the underlying
reasons for the resort to terrorism. They can also secure international support
by using the war on terrorism to further reduce civil liberties and human rights
in order to achieve valuable information and control in their countries.
It is remarkable to note the extensive interest and focus on measures to
counter the financing of terrorism. Despite a few examples in which terrorists
Anneli Botha
203
have used legal financial structures to fund their operations, most cells still
operate independently, which means that they are responsible for their own
funding. Thus the line between crime and terrorism becomes blurred – giving
more relevance to the examples in Chapter 5, which illustrated some of the
scams, drug trafficking and common criminal activities that were used to
fund the operations of the different cells and organisations.
While not implying that al-Qa’eda does not represent a serious threat to
transnational security, we should also be on our guard not to give al-Qa’eda
more power that it deserves by placing the blame for all acts of terrorism
around the world exclusively on al-Qa’eda. Although the al-Qa’eda brand
is being used to justify, gain support and influence, Osama bin Laden
and Ayman al-Zawahiri are no longer sanctioning these attacks. Claiming
responsibility should rather be seen as a need to stay relevant. As long as the
focus is on al-Qa’eda, domestic root causes will not be addressed. It is only
when sub-regional realities are focused on in depth that workable solutions
will be able to be implemented.
Returning to a number of alarming trends that deserve attention:
•
The development of small cells, sometimes limited to families, means
that cells may become more difficult to infiltrate and to monitor than
the previously more structured organisations. This is particularly the
case in countries such as Morocco and Tunisia, where there is no easily
identifiable or recognisable organisation driving the extremist agenda.
As a result of this diversity, a culture may develop in these countries for
individuals and smaller organisations to become the driving force of the
extremist agenda. Such a development will make it more difficult for
security forces to monitor and act against extremists. It may also mean
that security forces may spread their net too wide in the knowledge that a
real threat, however poorly defined, does exist. This can lead to the arrest
and prosecution of individuals who are, at worst, only remotely involved.
Although such a strategy may give an immediate impression of strength,
it could ultimately – on the basis that radicalisation predominantly takes
place in prisons – contribute to the vulnerability of the state
•
It is almost impossible to profile a suicide bomber. While there may be some
commonalities, we need to recognise the importance of human nature,
individual personalities and circumstances. Instead of oversimplifying
terrorism, we should accept that the reasons individuals resort to violence
against others are complex. Only by understanding these complexities, can
an effective counter terrorism strategy be developed
204
•
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Multiple levels of society are being targeted:
– Hopeless as well as well-established individuals
– Educated individuals (even a university professor was arrested as
part of an Iraqi recruitment network)
– The use of drug addicts: there has been an increasing use of
narcotics in the region as countries such as Morocco and Algeria
have more domestic users and fewer transit dealers targeting
countries in Europe. In other words, the need to redeem oneself
provides another motive used by extremists to radicalise former
drug addicts. Broadening the argument, extremists will use any
individual flaws – which will differ from person to person – in their
radicalisation programmes
In aligning themselves with al-Qa’eda, groups and individuals are revealing
another trend, which is that those who have been traditionally motivated by
domestic causes and grievances are increasingly aligning themselves with
transnational terror networks and principles – often as a matter of survival.
During 2007 both the GSPC in Algeria and the LFG in Libya aligned themselves
officially with al-Qa’eda. One might argue that both groups realised that the
initial strategy of changing the political system and replacing it with a true Islam
government could not be realised and that, in order to justify their existence,
both groups had to adapt to a transnational philosophy and agenda – explained
by Ayman al-Zawahiri in his message of 3 November 2007:
Islamic nation of resistance and jihad (holy war) in the Maghreb,
see how your children are uniting under the banner of Islam and
jihad against the United States, France and Spain (…) Support (...)
your children in fighting our enemies and cleansing our lands of
their slaves [Moamer] Kadhafi, Zine El Abidine [Ben Ali], [President
Abdelaziz] Bouteflika and [King] Mohammed VI (AFP 2007y).
While continuing its domestic campaign, the focus includes Western interests.
It remains doubtful that al-Qa’eda has any direct operational link with the
Algerian and Libyan organizations – in which all operations must first be
sanctioned by the al-Qa’eda leadership – but rather that an ideological link
exists goes without saying.
Lessons applicable to countries that do not consider terrorism to be a
significant threat include the following:
•
The threat of terrorism cannot and should not be measured by the
number of members or the strength of an organisation but rather by the
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205
willingness of individuals to align themselves to a philosophy in which
terrorism is portrayed as the only viable strategy
•
The real threat of terrorism essentially comes in small packages
The challenge for countries in North Africa remains not to use threats of
terrorism and religious extremism as a pretext to crack down on peaceful
dissent or to limit political development in an attempt to stay in power. If
states continue to limit democracy, to postpone reforms or to engage in the
politics of self-enrichment, the potential growth of extremist movements,
permeate with a jihadist worldview, is likely to increase.
Based on number of activities, Algeria is often considered as the country of
primary concern. Notwithstanding this view, Morocco and Tunisia should be
carefully monitored.
Unfortunately, a realistic analysis of the events of 2007 indicates that we have
by no means heard or seen the last of terrorism in North Africa. Domestic
and international circumstances, as well as the power of the internet, are
likely to further facilitate radicalisation and terrorism. Although acts of
terrorism may be sporadic, the threat is constant.
ANNEX
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES
Name
Citizenship
Place of birth
Date of birth
Algeria
Abdenour, Sameur
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
28 March 1973
Ait Idr, Mustafa
Algeria
Sidimhamed, Algeria
9 July 1970
Al Hajj, Boudella
Algeria
Laghouat, Algeria
18 April 1965
Al Qadir, Mohammed Abd Al
Algeria
Taot, Algeria
12 May 1976
Ameur, Mammar
Algeria
L’aghouat, Algeria
1 December 1958
Ameziane, Djamel Saiid Ali
Algeria
Al Jesera, Algeria
14 April 1967
Barhoumi, Sufyian
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
28 July 1973
Bel Bacha, Ahmed Bin Saleh
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
13 November 1969
Belkacem, Bensayah
Algeria
Wargala, Algeria
10 September1962
Bin Hamlili, Adil Hadi Al Jazairi
Algeria
Oram, Algeria
26 June 1975
Boumediene, Lakhdar
Algeria
Ain Soltgane Saeda, Algeria
27 April 1966
Fahri, Saiid
Algeria
Churchelle, Algeria
29 March 1961
Feghoul, Abdulli
Algeria
Tiaret, Algeria
22 October 1960
Hadjarab, Nabil
Algeria
Aentaya, Algeria
21 July 1979
Hamlily, Mustafa Ahmed
Algeria
Bashare, Algeria
20 February 1959
Houari, Abdul Raham
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
18 January 1980
Husseini, Abdallah
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
3 April 1958
Huwari, Soufian Abar
Algeria
Ouran, Algeria
29 April 1970
Lahmar, Sabir Mahfouz
Algeria
Constantin, Algeria
22 May 1969
Naji, Aziz Abdul
Algeria
Batna, Algeria
4 May 1975
Nechle, Mohammed
Algeria
Laghouat, Algeria
2 April 1968
Said, Hassan Mujamma Rabai
Algeria
Oum el Bouaghi, Algeria
5 February 1976
Sayab, Mutij Sadiz Ahmad
Algeria
Unknown
1 July 1976
Zumiri, Hassan
Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
8 September 1967
208
Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Name
Citizenship
Place of birth
Date of birth
Morocco
Achab Kanouni, Imad
France
Casablanca, MO
6 March 1977
Ahmad, Abdullah Tabarak
Morocco
Casablanca, MO
12 December 1955
Awzar, Mohamed Ibrahim
Morocco
Koreebja, MO
28 September 1979
Ben Moujan, Muhammad
Morocco
Dar Bid’a, MO
14 February 1981
Ikassrin, Laacin
Morocco
Targist, MO
2 October 1972
Lahassimi, Najib Mohammad
Morocco
Sattat, MO
28 September 1978
Mizouz, Mohammed
Morocco
Casablanca, MO
31 December 1973
Nasir, Abdul Latif
Morocco
Casablanca, MO
4 March 1965
Rashidi, Ahmed
Morocco
Tanjier, MO
16 March 1966
Shakaran, Ibrahim Bin
Morocco
Casablanca, MO
4 August 1979
Shokuri, Yunis Abdurrahman
Morocco
Asafi, MO
5 April 1968
Souleimani Laalmai, Mohamad
Morocco
Casablanca, MO
9 January 1976
Tunisia
Abdallah, Sayf Bin
Tunisia
Menzil, Tunisia
24 June 1973
Al Hami, Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin
Jalud
Tunisia
Omaron, Tunisia
4 March 1969
Al Yazidi, Ridah Bin Saleh
Tunisia
Unfidel, Tunisia
24 January 1965
Bin Hadiddi, Abdul Haddi
Tunisia
Bir’Alash, Tunisia
18 March 1969
Bin Hamida, Adil Mabrouk
Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia
15 September 1970
Hkiml, Adel Ahmed Bin Ibrahim
Tunisia
Bin Aroes, Tunisia
27 March 1965
Lagha, Lufti Bin Swei
Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia
29 November 1968
Nasseri, Riyad Bil Mohammmed
Tahir
Tunisia
Gafsa, Tunisia
8 July 1966
Omar, Abdullah Bin
Tunisia
Massoulta, Tunisia
28 June 1956
Ourgy, Abdul Bin Mohammed
Bin Abess
Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia
25 July 1965
Rahman, Mohammed Abdul 2
Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia
1 January 1965
Sliti, Hisham Bin Ali Bin Amor
Tunisia
Hamam Lif, Tunisia
12 February 1966
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
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attack in Algeria, 4 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007b. One dead, 14 injured in blasts outside Algiers
police stations, 30 October.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007c. Bomb blasts kill six in northern Algeria, injure 13,
13 February.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007d. Algerian minister says Salafist group ‘not a threat’,
31 January.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007e. Qaeda number two says Libyan group has joined,
3 November.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007f. Spain arrests Moroccan suspected of Al-Qaeda
links, 5 May.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007g. Moroccan authorities arrest 24 following
Casablanca attack, 21 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007h. Two bombers kill themselves, a third shot dead
by Moroccan police, 10 April.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007i. Morocco on alert for new suicide attacks, 11
April.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007j. Bin Laden ‘bodyguard’ jailed in Morocco, 2
February.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007k. Fourteen Tunisian ‘terror’ suspects get up to ten
years’ prison, 26 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007l. Tunisians find explosives, embassy plans, 12
January.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007m. Algerian fights extradition from Britain, 27
March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007n. Spain arrests Moroccan suspected of Al-Qaeda
links, 5 February.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007o. Spain approves extradition of two Moroccan
Islamic extremists, 5 October.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007p. Madrid bombings: the suspects, 15 February.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007q. Spain arrests Moroccan suspected of Al-Qaeda
links, 5 February.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007r. Fourth Moroccan Al-Qaeda suspect arrested in
Spain, 29 June.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007s. Jail terms for three in Belgian terror trail, 20
January.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007t. Sweden to extradite Moroccan terror suspect to
Germany, 29 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007u. Morocco jails Belgian on terror charges, 12
January.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007v. Don’t send back Algerian Guantanamo inmate,
6 December.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007w. Morocco bombing: police arrest Islamists granted
royal pardon, 14 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007x. Bulldozing begins on Casablanca slum hit by
suicide bombing, 22 March.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007y. Zawahiri urges attacks on Western targets in
Maghreb, 3 November.
Agnew, P 2003. Arrests believed to include senior al-Qaeda figure. Irish Times, 29
November.
Agnew, P 2007. 17 arrested in terror raids in Portugal, Italy and England. Irish Times,
7 November.
Agyeman, K 2007. Police arrest terror suspects in northern Nigeria. Global Insight,
12 November.
Algeria Events, 2007. A cell in Syria and Lebanon trains Algerians for fighting in
the GSPC, 3 July. Available at http://www.algeria-events.com/article1105.html
[accessed 23 November 2007].
All Africa 1999. A GIA unit joins AIS truce: more terrorist groups to follow, 25 June.
All Africa 2007. Torture allegations as more Brotherhood members arrested, 7
January.
Amnesty International 1997. Civilian population caught in a spiral of violence, 18
November, pp 7-8.
Amnesty International 2004. Country Profile: Tunisia – Report. Available at http://
web.amnesty.org/report2004/tun-summary-eng.
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Anjaiah, V 2007. Tunisia uses education as weapon in fight against poverty. The
Jakarta Post, 17 October.
Associated Press (AP) 2004. Islamic insurgency group claims responsibility for last
week’s power plant blast, 28 June.
Associated Press (AP) 2006. Tunisia pardons 1 657 prisoners, including leading
Islamist, 26 February.
Associated Press (AP) 2007. 1 soldier killed, 8 wounded in roadside bomb attack in
eastern Algeria, 23 January.
Associated Press (AP) 2007a. Three soldiers killed in Algerian bomb attack said linked
to al-Qaida wing, 10 June.
Associated Press (AP) 2007b. Algerian security services thwart 7 bombings this
month, 14 June.
Associated Press (AP) 2007c. 1 soldier, ten armed militants killed in clashes in Algeria,
30 September.
Associated Press (AP) 2007d. Roadside bomb kills officers in Algiers, 27 December.
Associated Press (AP) 2007e. Former rebels in Mali to help government police
borders, 21 February.
Associated Press (AP) 2007f. Tunisian court convicts man of belonging to Algerian
terror group, 19 January.
Associated Press (AP) 2007g. Tunisian court convicts 5 men of terrorism-related
charges, 6 April.
Associated Press (AP) 2007h. Tunisian press convinced Islamic extremists behind
recent clashes, 10 January.
Associated Press (AP) 2007i. Tunisia trial of 30 suspected Islamists postponed until
Dec. 1, 21 November.
Associated Press (AP) 2007j. British court denies bail for Algerian terror suspect held
for 6 years, 23 August.
Associated Press (AP) 2007k. Spanish court sentences five Algerians to jail for terror
cell membership, 9 February.
Associated Press (AP) 2007l. At least 22 jailed members of outlawed Islamist group
freed in Tunisia, 25 July.
Associated Press (AP) 2007m. A brief look at the 28 suspects in Spain’s March 11 trial,
1 November.
Atwan, A B 2006. The Secret History of Al-Qaida, Abacus:London
Australian Broadcasting Committee 2004. Interrogations of Willie Brigitte, 9 February.
Available at http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1131449.htm.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Ben Bouazza, B 2004. Teen convicted in suspected al-Qaida linked terror plot.
Associated Press, 17 April.
BBC Monitoring Africa 2007. Nigerian government arraigns five in court over terrorism
charges, 28 November.
BBC Monitoring Africa 2007a. Tuareg rebels attack army positions in northern Mali,
14 September.
BBC Monitoring Africa 2007b. Nigerian intelligence agency arrests suspected
Al-Qa’idah members in Kano, 31 October.
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific 2005. Algerian suspected of London bombing link
detained in Thai capital, 27 August.
BBC Monitoring Europe 2006. Italian police mount large-scale operation against
Islamic terror suspects, 27 March.
BBC Monitoring Europe 2007. Serb intelligence warning about Islamists in Greece
alarms authorities, 9 December.
BBC Monitoring Europe 2007a. Italian investigators cite Perugia terror suspects’
international connections, 23 July.
BBC Monitoring Europe 2007b. German court indicts Moroccan Al-Qa’idah follower
on terrorism charges, 20 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 1998. People desert border villages in panic, 22 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 1998a. Prime minister questioned in assembly on
security situation, 26 January.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2001. Tunisian security services alarmed by attack near
border with Algeria, 29 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2002. Explosives trafficking ring broken up in Tunisia,
7 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004. Algeria Salafist group web site posts bomb-making
instructions, 5 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004a. Algerian Islamist GSPC leader Nabil Sahraoui
profiled, 28 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004b. Paper profiles Algerian Islamist group’s new
leader, 7 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004c. Algerian Islamist group leader says predecessor
Hattab resigned, not killed, 28 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004d. Malian soldiers clash with Algerian armed group,
18 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004e. Islamist ‘terrorists’ roaming the Sahara, 11 July.
Anneli Botha
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BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004f. Five armed group members killed east of Algiers,
12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004g. Moroccan security dismantles ‘new terrorist cell’
in Agadir, 6 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004h. Armed group leader ‘liquidates’ ten of his men
accused of treason, 25 August 2004.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2004i. Islamist ‘terrorists’ roaming the Sahara, 11 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005a. Former Algerian FIS leader approves killing of
diplomats in Iraq, 27 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005b. Algerian authorities arrest former FIS leader after
Al-Jazeera interview, 27 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005c. Algeria hands over six Moroccan Islamists to
Rabat, 5 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005d. Morocco dismantles militant Islamic network,
28 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005e. Algeria, Tunisia to discuss hand-over of detained
Tunisian Islamists, 19 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005f. Paper says Tunisian ‘terrorists’ arrested in eastern
Algeria, 27 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005g. Moroccan court confirms issuing international
arrest warrant for El Guerbouzi, 10 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005h. Morocco seeks extradition from Britain of
individuals suspected of terrorism, 25 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005i. Italy arrests British passport holder, former
Algerian Islamist leader, 24 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005j. Paper asks ‘was it necessary to send Algerian
diplomats to Iraq?’, 25 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2005k. Algerian Al-Qa’idah-lined activist handed over
by Syria, 13 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006a. Algerian Islamist group leader reveals details of
his life, 14 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006b. Algerian authorities arrest 28 ‘terror’ suspects,
5 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006c. Moroccan court issues death sentences against
terror suspects, 22 December.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006d. Terrorism still a threat to vital institutions, 2
December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006e. Moroccan Islamists on trial planned regime
change, 10 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006f. Detained Islamists planning Jihad war, 12
August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006g. Moroccan paper views ‘terrorist’ group
‘dangerous’ plans, 14 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006h. Terrorism still a threat to vital institutions, 2
December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006i. Moroccan paper says terrorist network established
in Mauritanian town, 21 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006j. Several Moroccan terrorist suspects questioned,
19 January.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006k. Moroccans jailed on terror charges claim
innocence, 9 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006l. Algerian authorities arrest 20 Islamists linked to
‘Spanish network’, 6 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006m. Spanish judge interrogates five Moroccans over
Madrid bombings, 2 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2006n. Detainee says Moroccans in Syria want to enter
Iraq to fight Americans, 3 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007. Algerian official says Salafi Group for Call and
Combat no threat to Maghreb, 1 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007a. Al-Qa’idah in the Maghreb: A return to 1990s
violence feared, 1 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007b. Sixty North Africa’s Al-Qa’idah members said
encircled by Algerian army, 19 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007c. Maghreb Al-Qa’idah claims 21 September Algiers
suicide attack, 21 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007d. Algerian army kills three terror suspects in
Khemis el-Khechna operation, 25 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007e. Algerian authorities arrest two suspects in Dellys
terror attack, 12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007f. Algerian prison guard killed by terrorists, 26
September.
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BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007g. Algerian security expert expects more Al-Qa’idah
suicide attacks, 30 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007h. Algerian court sentences two armed Islamist
group founders to death in absentia, 18 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007i. Moroccan security on full alert fearing terror
attack on border with Algeria, 31 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007j. Two Algerian soldiers wounded in ‘terrorist’
skirmish, 25 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007k. Algerian army uncovers anti-personnel mines
cache, 25 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007l. Algerian army said trapping ‘major’ terrorist group
near Moroccan border, 24 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007m. Paper says Al-Qa’idah in Islamic Maghreb
moves to ‘maritime operations’, 16 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007n. Algerian troops kill seven ‘terrorists’, 7
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007o. Algerian security services break up terrorism
support network, 26 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007p. Al-Qa’idah in Maghreb says Algerian army killed
four Libyan elements, 21 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007q. Algerian court sentences two armed Islamist
group founders to death in absentia, 18 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007r. Salafi Group ‘allies’ itself with smugglers’
networks, 19 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007s. Security agencies reportedly arrest 12 ‘terrorists’
in eastern Algeria, 2 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007t. Algerian local government delegation reportedly
escapes terrorist attack, 29 January 2007.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007u. Algerian soldier killed, two wounded in bomb
blast, 26 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007v. Bomb explodes in front of Algerian gendarmerie
station in Berber area, 7 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007w. Bomb blast targets Algerian police chief, 29
March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007x. ‘Terrorists’ blow up gas pipeline in eastern
Algeria, 14 April.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007y. Algerian gendarme wounded by roadside bomb
east of Algiers, 16 April.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007z. Egyptian engineer kidnapped in Algeria released,
8 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aa. Egyptian company director kidnapped in
Algeria, 29 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ab. Policeman killed in blast in Algerian Berber
province, 6 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ac. Algerian security authorities defuse bomb at Tizi
Ouzou bus station, 12 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ad. Two Algerian security guards killed in attack on
gas pipeline, 24 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ae. Algerian army defuses two bombs on highway,
26 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007af. Two children wounded in bomb blast, 13
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ag. Algerian security forces defuse bomb in market,
15 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ah. Two Algerian policemen, three municipal
guards killed in armed attacks, 27 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ai. Municipal guard reportedly killed, two wounded
eastern Algeria, 13 May
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aj. Two Algerian soldiers, two armed group
members killed in Kabylie, 29 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ak. Three Algerian civilian militiamen killed in
Kabylie, 29 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007al. Algerian armed group kills three civilians,
wounds several in Kabylie, 9 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007am. Roadside bomb targets Russian workers in
Algeria, 10 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007an. Algerian military aircraft hit by ‘terrorist group’s’
RPG rockets, 10 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ao. Algerian president led Batna attack investigation,
12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ap. Algerian local government delegation reportedly
escapes terrorist attack, 29 January.
Anneli Botha
219
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aq. UK Arabic paper publishes reported Bin-Laden
letter to Algerian group, 23 February 2007.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ar. Al-Qa’idah-affiliated group says responsible for
suicide attack east of Algiers, 22 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007as. Algerian authorities arrest three Libyans recruited
by Islamist gunmen, 13 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007at. Gunmen, said to be Islamists, kill three
Mauritanian soldiers, 30 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007au. Mauritanian authorities arrest Islamists following
killing of French, 25 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007av. Released Algerian kidnap victim recounts stay
in Islamist hideout, 20 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007aw. Algerian security forces arrest 32 people for
allegedly supporting terrorism, 15 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ax. Algerian authorities break up weapons
trafficking network in Maghnia, 31 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ba. Seven ‘terrorists’ said arrested in southern
Algeria, 4 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bb. Algerian security forces arrest seven ‘terrorists’
from weapons trafficking network, 15 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bc. Paper profiles Algerian Islamist group’s leader,
7 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bd. Algerian Al-Qa’idah communiqué attempts to
offset repentant’s revelations, 22 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007be. Algerian paper says GSPC leader surrenders to
security forces, 29 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bf. Algerian armed group founder said surrendered
for fear of his life, 9 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bg. Algerian paper speculates on identity of navy
coastguards suicide bomber, 9 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bh. Eight Algerian militants killed in Sid-Ali-Bounab,
Meftah, 16 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bi. Al-Qa’idah commander killed in Algeria, 3
July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bj. Background on killing of Algerian explosives
expert, 9 October.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bk. Algerian troops kill terrorist group’s ‘military
adviser’, 2 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bl. Algerian security forces reportedly kill two
armed group leaders, 2 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bm. Algerian military kills 25 ‘terrorists’ in three
provinces, 6 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bn. Algerian paper says ‘terrorist’ chief killed in
Bejaia Province, 13 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bo. Algerian security forces identify two terrorists
east of Algiers, 9 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bp. Algerian paper says six ‘terrorists’ killed in
Tebessa province, 29 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bq. Algerian security forces breaks up two ‘large’
bomb-making laboratories, 10 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007br. Algerian Salafist ‘treasurer’ given life prison
term, 2 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bs. Opposition reported inside Maghreb Al-Qa’idah
to recent blasts in Algeria, 11 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bt. Algerian prison guard killed by terrorists, 26
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bu. Al-Qa’idah in Maghreb using cyber café to
recruit Algerian youths, 12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bv. Forty Algerian youth join ‘terrorist groups’ in
Constantine City, 21 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bw. Two Algerian Islamists describe Al-Qa’idah
recruitment methods, 15 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bx. Opposition reported inside Maghreb Al-Qa’idah
to recent blasts in Algeria, 11 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007by. Al-Qa’idah in Maghreb Algerian leader
‘replaced’, 3 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007bz. Algerian security arrest senior armed group
leader, 19 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ca. The rise of Al-Qa’idah in the Maghreb region,
31 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cb. Morocco presses charges against Casablanca
bombing suspect, 21 March.
Anneli Botha
221
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cc. Most wanted terror suspect caught, prosecuted
in Morocco, 20 June 2007.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cd. Moroccan terrorist suspects’ trial postponed to
11 April, 28 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ce. Moroccan authorities arrest three suspected
radical Islamists, 31 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cf. Moroccan court tries 11 terrorist suspects, 28
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cg. Moroccan court adjourns trial of Ansar al-Mahdi
cell to 29 September, 29 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ch. Moroccan terror cell trial adjourned, 26
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ci. Moroccan army troops and officers under
scrutiny, 5 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cj. Two Moroccans suspected of involvement in
‘terrorist acts’ questioned, 20 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ck. Moroccan court gives defendants in Ansar
al-Mahdi case four years in prison, 25 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cl. Moroccan security services foil ‘terror’ plot in
Tangiers, 11 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cm. Trial of seven Moroccan terrorist suspects
postponed to 12 November, 24 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cn. Moroccan court jails terror suspects to between
two to 15 years, 2 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007co. Moroccan court adjourns case of cell accused
of having links with Al-Qa’idah, 10 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cp. Moroccan court postpones trial of eight terrorist
suspects. 17 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cq. Moroccan authorities arrest suspect in Western
Sahara, 29 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cr. Moroccan prosecutor urges condemnation of 21
suspected terrorists, 12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cs. Moroccan court issues imprisonment, acquittal
verdicts in ‘terrorist’ case, 19 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ct. Three Moroccans still in Guantanamo detention,
27 July.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cu. Moroccan court jails ‘Sale Group’ suspects for
up to ten years, 3 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cv. Several arrested in Morocco following aborted
terror plan, 17 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cw. Trial of Moroccan terrorist suspects postponed
to 22 November, 14 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cx. Twenty-six Moroccans questioned by judge for
alleged terrorist activities, 14 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cy. Al-Qaidah threats in North Africa ‘quite serious’,
11 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007cz. Senior Moroccan intelligence officers moved
‘for security considerations’, 19 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007da. Moroccan Islamists reportedly set up mobile
training camps, 1 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007db. Moroccan an Al-Qa’idah in Maghreb reportedly
killed, 27 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dc. Moroccan Islamists reportedly set up mobile
training camps, 1 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dd. Tunisian clampdown has led to rise in Islamists’
activities abroad, 12 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007de. Algerian security forces kill six foreign ‘terrorists’,
7 August.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007df. Soldier seriously wounded in bomb blast in
eastern Algeria, 18 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dg. Islamists from Algeria behind recent fire
exchange in Tunisia, 5 January.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dh. ‘New’ Tunisian jihadist group claim responsibility
for 3 Jan clash, 9 January.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007di. Fourteen people tried in Tunisia over terrorism
charges, 19 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dj. Lebanese prosecutor charges 59 Fatah al-Islam
members with terror acts, 21 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dk. Al-Qa’idah terrorists ready to launch attacks in
Morocco, 29 June.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dl. Moroccan group threatens to strike Spanish
targets in Algiers, 23 March.
Anneli Botha
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BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dm. Tunisian clampdown has led to rise in Islamists’
activities abroad, 12 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dn. London-based paper views terrorism, US-French
rivalry in North Africa, 7 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007do. Algerian authorities arrest recruiter for war in
Iraq, 28 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dp. Pakistan to extradite 20 former ‘AfghanAlgerians’ after Ramadan, 25 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dq. El-Oued Algeria ‘epicentre’ of network sending
volunteers to fight in Iraq, 7 February.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dr. Algeria security forces uncover al-Qa’idah
training camp, 6 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ds. Moroccan authorities dismantle 11 networks
recruiting fighters for Iraq, 23 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dt. Court sentences Moroccan to two years under
anti-terror law, 5 January.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007du. Moroccan court indicts suspected recruiter of
volunteers for Iraq, 31 March.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dv. Iraqi police accuse Moroccan of targeting Shi’is,
21 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dw. Algerian terror suspect deported from UK
receives three-year jail sentence, 12 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dx. Algerian Islamist party bars FIS members from
electoral lists, 16 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dy. Former Algerian Jihadists plea for help from
president, 31 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007dz. Algerian security forces arrest 11 suspects in bid
to murder president, 2 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ea. Algerian terror group ‘recruiter’ arrested, 20
September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007eb. Algerian minister says GSPC leader ‘repentant’
but must stand trial, 7 October.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ec. Algerian government’s four charges against FIS
leader Belhaj detailed, 12 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ed. Algerian ‘ideologue’ for suicide bombers
arrested, 18 September.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ee. Algerian mosque preacher indoctrinating
would-be suicide bombers, 13 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ef. Algerian religious affairs minister on youth
recruitment in mosques, 28 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007eg. Algerian mosques ‘declare war’ on extremism,
7 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007eh. Algerian authorities arrest two suspects in 11
April attacks, 18 August 2007.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ei. Moroccan court sentences three ‘terror’ suspects
to two years, 27 July.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ej. Moroccan court confirms sentences against two
terrorist suspects, 26 September.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007ek. Moroccan court sentences 15 on terrorism
charges, 29 December.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007el. Moroccan court postpones 51 terror suspects
trail to 6 Dec, 8 November.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007em. North African intelligence officials reportedly
agree on security cooperation, 2 May.
BBC Monitoring Middle East 2007en. Interpol wants Moroccan-Algerian police
cooperation, 8 November.
BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2003. Moroccan authorities were warned in advance about
Casablanca blasts, 26 May.
BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2005. Salafi group calls for targeting Algerian officials in
France, 16 August.
BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007. Maghreb Al-Qa’idah claims 21 September Algiers
suicide attack, 21 September.
BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007a. Third ‘terrorist’ blows himself up in Casablanca, 10
April.
BBC Monitoring Newsfile 2007b. Syrian authorities arrest 40 Algerian would-be Fatah
al-Islam fighters, 20 June.
BBC News 1998. Only Arabic for Algeria, 22 July.
BBC News 2002. Italy jails four terror suspects, 22 February.
BBC News 2003. Algeria’s terror connection, 5 March.
Black, I 2007. Al-Qaida says it carried out Algerian bombings: Crowds condemn
attacks that killed at least 52. The Guardian, 10 September 2007.
Black, I 2007a. Mass trial of Islamists accused of terror plots begins in Morocco. The
Guardian, 22 March 2007.
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Dow Jones International News 2002. New terror suspect spoke to Italy police yrs ago,
16 September.
Dow Jones International News 2004. Algerian military: Al-Qaida-linked terror leader
killed, 20 June.
Dow Jones International News 2004a. Tunisia convicts teenager of terrorist activities,
17 April.
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Terrorism in the Maghreb: The transnationalisation of domestic terrorism
Dow Jones International News 2004b. Biggest Al-Qaida threat to Europe in Morocco
– Spain judge, 15 July.
Dow Jones International News 2004c. Algerian man extradited to France for alleged
terror ties, 17 June.
Dow Jones International News 2004d. Spain judge holds 3 Moroccans on terrorism
charges, 27 December.
Dow Jones International News 2005. Belgium judge orders trail of 13 on ‘terrorism’
charges, 29 August.
Dow Jones International News 2005a. Italy expels Moroccan imam under security
laws, 6 September 2005.
Dow Jones International News 2005b. German court jails Moroccan for being in
terror group, 19 August.
Dow Jones International News 2006. Algeria Islamist group: Army killed spiritual
leader, 1 February.
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