Latest al-Qaeda tape reveals extent of group's troubles

2007-08-17

The al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb released a videotape chronicling a terrorist operation in Algeria that many believe lends additional credence to arguments that the group is in extreme crisis.

Said Jameh in Algiers contributed to this report – 17/08/2007

[Getty Images] Algerian security forces have intensified their operations, attempting to eliminate al-Qaeda's operations in the country

On August 8th, the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb broadcast a video over the Internet of what it says is an armed operation carried out against a police patrol in the El-Karama area of Boumerdès (50km east of the capital).

The tape shows a terrorist operation from preparation through implementation, and its preparers took pains to highlight each stage of the attack as evidence of their power and ability to strike at Algerian police officers and all they symbolise to the nation.

Experts have attributed the videotape to losses suffered by the organisation in recent months; more than 100 militants have been killed since July alone, and numerous others have surrendered. Authorities also identified and dismantled the cell responsible for the April 11th attacks in Algiers.

The Algerian army undertook an operation in July, searching the mountains of the Tizi Ouzou region for elements of the terrorist group. During the operation, the police headquarters in the town of Yakourene was bombed, provoking even more troop deployments to the region.

The army and special forces contingent dispatched to the forested region succeeded in killing more than 30 militants. Days later in the Tabsa and Khenchela mountains, in the far east of Algeria, army reinforcements killed 20 more. Prior to that, a training camp was discovered in the border region of El Oued, where an armed group was also broken up. This desert region on the Tunisian border was used until recently as a passage for Algerians wanting to join al-Qaeda in Iraq.

It is believed the frequency and intensity of these operations have prompted al-Qaeda to media action, in an attempt to demonstrate the group's ongoing relevance and capability, even if it must resort to broadcasting images from old operations.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni has said in prior statements to the Algerian press that al-Qaeda received painful blows in the mountains of Kabylia and in several other regions of the country, and that terrorism has been routed in the field.

Ouahab Hebbad, Director of the New Press photo agency in Algiers told Magharebia the al-Qaeda tape can be characterised as propaganda, and he deemed the broadcasting of such recordings manipulative, intended to affect and terrorise citizens and "to say the organisation is still strong and capable of striking at any moment, and that it is able to target whomever it wants."

Journalist Salima Tlemcani, an expert on armed groups, told Magharebia that broadcasting a tape such as this is part of the strategy of al-Qaeda, and that the group has increased its use of such techniques. The increase is due to the willingness of Qatari news network Al Jazeera to broadcast their videos and other media.

Tlemcani said the underlying cause for the tape's broadcast was a particularly successful raid on July 30th that left several key figures from the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb dead. Among those killed were Sid Ali Rachid, known as Ali Dix, a specialist in manufacturing hand explosives and Military Advisor to the organisation's leader, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and Nour Mohamed, aka Haroun El Achaachi, responsible for recruiting new members of the organisation. Musab Abudaoud, the group's Deputy Commander for the Algerian Sahara surrendered to security forces.

According to Tlemcani, Droukdel no longer represents anything without his lieutenants, particularly Ali Dix and El Achaachi, "because he is not intelligent and is unable to lead, plan and execute terrorist operations." The operation in the Tabsa area and Abudaoud's surrender have affected the weapons supply of the terrorist group, since the Sahara region is considered the group’s source for supplying and transporting weapons to its elements in the north.

Terrorists who surrendered have cited differences with the organisation's leadership after the name change to al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. Khiat A., who turned himself in recently, reportedly said he was against the affiliation of the GSPC with Al-Qaeda, and against giving "a global aspect to the armed group in Algeria." He said many GSPC members believe the organisation deviated from its "charter" by carrying out suicide attacks, false roadblocks and abductions.

Ten GSPC leaders have surrendered to the authorities after the deadly April 11th Algiers attacks. Benmessaoud Abdelkader, who surrendered last month, made his decision after disagreements with organisation’s leadership over the April 11th bombings. He told a press conference that dozens of foreigners who joined al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have been leaving the organisation "because they are disillusioned". According to Benmessaoud, around 50 foreign recruits had joined the group, but many of them want to return to their countries. There also have been conflicting media reports about other key leaders of GSPC, such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, having their families negotiate their surrender with authorities under Algeria’s amnesty program.

Tlemcani said the current plight of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb shows certain similarities to what befell the Armed Islamic Group in the 1990s, when it saw internal conflicts among its leaders. Internal opposition against Droukdel has not only been over the al-Qaeda affiliation, but also for his decisions to support elements of the second region, including the capital and Kabylia. This support comes at the cost of adequately supplying other regions, leading them to contemplate surrender.

Tlemcani added that while she does not rule out the possibility of more terrorist attacks in the future, she does not believe the current media campaign being waged by al-Qaeda will sway the Algerian public.