Al Qaida braces for trouble in N. Africa- UPI
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb(AQMI) has named a new chief for the vast Sahara and Sahel region, Yahya Abou el Houman, who had led the group's Elvourghan brigade and had command of the ancient city of Timbuktu. He was appointed by AQIM's overall leader, the veteran Abdelmalek Droukdel, aka Abu Musab Abdel-Wadoud, the sources said.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Al-Qaida-braces...
AQIM is braced for a retalitory strike following the killing of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi according to a UPI report.Regional rivalries have stalled efforts by North African powers to move against the jihadists in a concerted manner but since AQIM and its associates including Mujao and Ansar Dine have pushed aside the Tuareg Movement for the National Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) the pressure for action has grown, the report says.
"The al-Qaida node has suffered several operational and leadership disruptions in recent months and AQIM brigades and Malian authorities have both been behaving in ways that portend an escalation in counterterrorism operations," the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed.
Algerian newspapers report AQIM forces are strengthening defenses of their strongholds in northern Mali with minefields and trench systems.The establishment of a jihadist enclave in the remote Sahel region has alarmed regional powers led by Algeria, which fought a decade-long war against Islamist rebels throughout the 1990s, and Mauritania ,Niger and Chad. The international communitee, particularly the French are alarmed by the emergence of northerern Mali as the new Afghanistan harbouring Al Quaeda terrorists ready to strike at the West.
Much of AQIM's funds -- an estimated $50 million in recent years -- come from kidnappings for ransom, particularly involving Westerners.
With the Islamist militants firmly dug in across Mali and exploiting political upheaval in the Arab world, the jihadist threat in North Africa has grown alarmingly.The United States is becoming involved in the counter-terrorism effort, primarily through the Africa Command(Africom) established in 2007 to train regional counter-terrorism forces, the report says.
U.S. units reportedly operate unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles out of a desert base in Morocco, with a similar Special Operations base in Burkina Faso. according to UPI.Since Stevens was killed, some say as retaliation for a purported U.S. plot to kill AQIM's Droukdel, U.S. Special Forces have beenquietly deployed at U.S embassies across the region, although no unilateral action is reportedly contemplated,the report says
U.S. units reportedly operate unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles out of a desert base in Morocco, with a similar Special Operations base in Burkina Faso.
Since US Ambassador Stevens was killed, some say as retaliation for a purported U.S. plot to kill AQIM's Droukdel, U.S. Special Forces have been quietly deployed at U.S embassies across the region, although no unilateral action is reportedly contemplated.
Algeria is the main military power in the Sahel and in recent years has sought to lead regional moves against the jihadists, in large part to ensure that France and other Western power keep out of the region. It fears that western intervention could open a pandora's box of regional, religious or ethnic extremism , an expert said.
"The al-Qaida node has suffered several operational and leadership disruptions in recent months and AQIM brigades and Malian authorities have both been behaving in ways that portend an escalation in counterterrorism operations," the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed.
Algerian newspapers report AQIM forces are strengthening defenses of their strongholds in northern Mali with minefields and trench systems.The establishment of a jihadist enclave in the remote Sahel region has alarmed regional powers led by Algeria, which fought a decade-long war against Islamist rebels throughout the 1990s, and Mauritania ,Niger and Chad. The international communitee, particularly the French are alarmed by the emergence of northerern Mali as the new Afghanistan harbouring Al Quaeda terrorists ready to strike at the West.
Much of AQIM's funds -- an estimated $50 million in recent years -- come from kidnappings for ransom, particularly involving Westerners.
With the Islamist militants firmly dug in across Mali and exploiting political upheaval in the Arab world, the jihadist threat in North Africa has grown alarmingly.The United States is becoming involved in the counter-terrorism effort, primarily through the Africa Command(Africom) established in 2007 to train regional counter-terrorism forces, the report says.
U.S. units reportedly operate unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles out of a desert base in Morocco, with a similar Special Operations base in Burkina Faso. according to UPI.Since Stevens was killed, some say as retaliation for a purported U.S. plot to kill AQIM's Droukdel, U.S. Special Forces have beenquietly deployed at U.S embassies across the region, although no unilateral action is reportedly contemplated,the report says
U.S. units reportedly operate unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles out of a desert base in Morocco, with a similar Special Operations base in Burkina Faso.
Since US Ambassador Stevens was killed, some say as retaliation for a purported U.S. plot to kill AQIM's Droukdel, U.S. Special Forces have been quietly deployed at U.S embassies across the region, although no unilateral action is reportedly contemplated.
Algeria is the main military power in the Sahel and in recent years has sought to lead regional moves against the jihadists, in large part to ensure that France and other Western power keep out of the region. It fears that western intervention could open a pandora's box of regional, religious or ethnic extremism , an expert said.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Al-Qaida-braces...