 BERLIN: Information from a captured fighter now in Algerian custody may help authorities there mop up the remnants of the country's leading Islamist militant group, a senior US military official said. Neighbours of the North African nation will also take a close interest in whatever intelligence Algeria can obtain from Amar Saifi, whom it accuses of "numerous terrorist crimes". Saifi was number two in the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and is listed by the US as a terrorist organisation. He is also wanted in Germany in connection with the kidnapping of 32 European tourists in the Sahara last year. The ex-paratrooper had been held since March by a ChaÂÂdian rebel group but Algeria announced last Thursday it had taken him into custody after he was intercepted in Libya."He obviously not only knows a lot, he probably holds the key to the kingdom — if he were willing to talk, he could probably tell them everything they needed to know to roll up most of the remaining folks," the US official said. He said nations like Mali and Niger, Algeria's neighbours in the largely desert Sahel region of north Africa, would also be keen to learn who Saifi was working with in their countries. He declined to answer directly when asked if the United States itself would seek access to Saifi, also known as Abderrezak Al Para. "Obviously we're interested but that is strictly an Algerian affair."The military official said Saifi's handover was an "enormous victory" for the region, where US Marines and special forces have trained local armies in four nations this year as part of a strategy to help Africa boost its defences in the war on terror. |