General Homeland Direction DGSN has finished the elaboration of the project of the new counterterrorism unit which it is to be launched sooner to substitute the dissolved central judicial police department; well informed sources told El Khabar.The creation of this new body targets countering Al-Qaeda in Algeria, as already mentioned by the Director of DGSN Colonel Ali Tounsi following fierce terror attacks in 2007. The creation of this new counterterrorism unit, which has not yet being given a name, has taken into account several parameters in terms of prerogatives, areas of intervention and staffs, the same sources added. DGSN is focussing on recruiting well skilled and elite of security services acquiring practical experience in terms of counter terror, as the majority of staffs have served during the black decay, the nineties, in the dissolved central judicial police department specialized in counterterrorism.
El Khabar sources further mentioned that the staff members of this unit are highly skilled and specialized in counterterrorism as they have been trained here in Algeria and abroad in the domain of counterterrorism. The staff members of this new unit is likely to reach 200 skilled elements from different ranks and levels in the judicial police, the same sources said, pointing out that the unit is to fight also crimes linked to supporting terror groups like smuggling, narcotic traffic as well as arms and ammunitions traffic.