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| Africa North |
| AQIM sets up branch aimed at Libya, Tunisia |
| 2014-02-02 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has big plans for Tunisia and Libya, and the terror organization intends to use Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... to achieve its goal. AQIM's Algerian chief Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... just appointed one of his henchmen to head up a new branch that has the two emerging democracies in its crosshairs. Bejaia native Khaled Chaieb (aka Lokman Abou Sakhr) will be the emir of the as-yet unnamed new body that merges Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia with the Okba Ibn Nafaa katibat, Assarih reported on January 14th. Whatever its name, the umbrella organization will really be "al-Qaeda in Tunisia". Droukdel (aka Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) picked the new emir to replace Ansar al-Sharia chief Abou Iyadh. The criminal mastermind of the attack on the US embassy in Tunis was apprehended last month in Libya. The al-Qaeda boss had earlier lost a top deputy: Mokhtar Belmokhtar (aka "Laaouar"). The Algerian terrorist left AQIM to start a rival operation after Droukdel relieved him of his brigade command. Droukdel's latest favourite has been in Tunisia since Ramadan. He reportedly infiltrated the country via Jebel Chaambi with Nasser Toumi, a terror emir active in the region of Batna. Like Droukdel, Chaieb is a former chemistry student turned explosives expert. He is now trying to avoid capture while still recruiting and training jihadists for the new group. But even before the news of his elevation to emir by Droukdel, Lokman was named by the interior ministry as the subject of a "most-wanted" alert for involvement in the Jebel Chaambi massacre of Tunisian troops. When gunnies first appeared last spring in the rugged region along the Algeria border, the Tunisian defence ministry noted the al-Qaeda connection. "The armed elements holed up in Jebel Chaambi on the border with Algeria received logistic assistance of water, food and clothing from Tunisians sympathetic to them, which serves as evidence of the presence of an incubator for those turbans who are believed to belong to al-Qaeda," ministry front man Mokhtar Ben Nasr said. Word about Chaieb first emerged on January 9th, when Tunisia said it was hunting "a dangerous Algerian national - wanted in cases of terrorism - in the city of Kasserine". "Chaieb, known as Lokman Abou Sakhr, was involved in the liquidation of soldiers from the army and the national guard," the ministry said. He may be bound for Libya, but snuffies there are not easily led by outsiders. AQIM's desire to take control of Ansar al-Sharia and use it as a propaganda tool will not be easy, given the separate paths that Tunisia and Libya have followed. For the Droukdel henchman, Tunisia is just a way station on his journey to Libya's extremism capital of Derna. But it is unknown how the outsider will be welcomed by the local Death Eaters. The city is home base for Ansar al-Sharia, which is accused of having carried out the deadly attack on the US mission in Benghazi. AQIM is staking everything on this new front, which analysts say could give it a new lease of life after suffering top-level defections, as well as heavy personnel losses in northern Mali. The group is also coming under strong pressure from Algerian security forces. In response to the tightening nooses, AQIM has the choice to either hide out or seek new fronts abroad. "The main task of Khaled Chaieb is reorganising the ranks of fighters who received severe blows at the hands of Tunisian and Algerian armies, in addition to addressing the organizational confusion due to the absence of Abou Iyadh," says Mokhtar Belhasin, an expert in jihadist movements. Before his arrest in Libya on December 30th, Abou Iyadh threatened to use ten thousand armed gunnies of Ansar al-Sharia gunnies in the invasion of Tunisia. Now that he is out of commission, Droukdel aims to use his new appointee to stake a presence in both Libya and Tunisia. Representatives from Ansar al-Sharia in Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, as well as Algerian representatives of AQIM, held a three-day summit in Benghazi to plot a new strategy for the region, German Newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported last month. "Sending Khaled Chaieb to Tunisia follows recommendations from the Benghazi meeting, to carry out operations in the region," security analyst Waheed Baklouti told Magharebia. The best way now to counter the threat is for the governments of Tunisia, Algeria and Libya to improve communication, Tunis-based international law expert Murad Khemakhem tells Magharebia. "The implementation of exchange and development programmes and training of elements of law enforcement are essential, as well as financial support to modernise and improve the equipment of troops specialised in counter-terrorism," he adds. According to sociologist Lamia Belhasin, the recruitment of new fighters into the ranks of terrorist groups can be prevented "by the creation of rapid social solutions to revive marginalised neighbourhoods, especially the ones adjacent to the border". "There is a significant uptick of salafists in the slums. They became the main financiers of the micro-projects that are sought after by the poor. The poor will look at them as patrons and will oblige even if the demands include terrorist acts," she added. And they are very visible on Tunisian streets. During a January 24th march organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir to condemn the country's new constitution, Ansar al-Sharia's black and white flags were carried by some participants. Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... hefty bounties are being offered for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of gunnies active in Tunisia and Libya. On January 10th, Tunisia's Ansar al-Sharia and similar groups in Libya's Derna and Benghazi were labelled by the US as terrorist organizations. Group leaders Ahmed Boukhtala in Benghazi, Sufian bin Qumu in Derna, and Seifallah Ben Hassine of Tunisia (aka Abou Iyadh) were also named "global terrorists". Up to $10 million dollars in reward money is available to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans, including the US ambassador. |
| Posted by:Fred |