Algeria Again? Contemporary affairs

[wm]

From the BBC yesterday (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6540369.stm)

'Bombers' die in Casablanca raid

The police raid took place in an impoverished residential area
A police raid on suspected militants in the Moroccan city of Casablanca has set off gunfights and suicide bombings that have left at least five men dead

One wonders how this maps to the events in Algeria.

I also heard that Algeria recently declined when asked to be the host country for the US AFRICOM HQ.

[Sarajevo071]

In a statement posted this morning on the internet, a group calling itself Al Qaeda of the Maghrib has taken credit for a series of attacks in Algeria.

The posting includes three photographs of the young men who they claim carried out the three suicide attacks.
…

The first target was the headquarters of the apostate government in the capital Algiers where the martyr Muath Bin Jabal drove a truck filled of 700 kg of explosives storming in on the apostates in their fortress and according to our own sources killing about 45 and injuring an unknown number of them, destroying a part of the building

The second target was the headquarters on the international INTERPOL in the capital Algiers (the gate of Zuwar) where the martyr Al-Zubeir Abu Sajeda drove a truck filled with 700 kg of explosives and he stormed in the den of the tyranny and infidelity and those who are fighting Jihad and he was able with God's blessing to destroy it completely killing at least eight apostates and injuring an unknown number of them

The third target was the headquarters of the special forces of the Police in Ezzouar Gate in the capital where the martyr Abu Dujana drove a truck filled with 500 kg of explosives storming the apostate fortress and he was able with God's blessing to destroy it completely killing and injuring a large number of the apostates.
…

http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/

[Jedburgh]

The Economist, 12 Apr 07: The Long Arm of al-Qaeda

...Is all this just propaganda to revive the flagging spirits of north African insurgents, or the opening of a new front in the global jihad? Two bomb attacks against foreign oil workers in Algeria hint that the group has adopted the al-Qaeda policy of killing foreigners. But this week’s bombings in Algiers are more in keeping with the GSPC’s tradition of hitting the Algerian state.

Still, some of al-Qaeda’s modus operandi is evident: the seven near-simultaneous bombs against security forces in February, and this week’s apparent use of suicide bombers, a rare tactic in Algeria. Many north Africans have joined Iraq’s insurgency; veterans are apparently returning to wage jihad at home or in Europe.

The jihadists stirring next door in Morocco so far seem less proficient than their Algerian cousins. Last year King Muhammad ended military conscription and reorganised much of his security apparatus after Islamists infiltrated his armed forces. The trial of 50 people accused of trying to overthrow the monarchy is due to begin in May. Separately, security forces have been unravelling a web of militants said to have been planning suicide-bomb attacks on foreign ships, hotels and police buildings....

[Jedburgh]

From the USMA Combating Terrorism Center:

The GSPC: Newest Franchise in al‐Qa’ida’s Global Jihad

The GSPC, one of the most notorious terrorist groups in North Africa, has aligned with Al‐Qa’ida and changed its name to “The Organization of al‐Qa’ida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb.” On April 10, 2007, the new organization claimed credit for two suicide car bomb attacks in Algiers that killed 23 people. Some observers have speculated that North Africa may be the next safe‐haven for al‐Qa’ida, and that European countries may face a greater risk of attack if Algerian terrorist groups expand their base of support in Europe. The alignment of the GSPC with al‐Qa’ida represents a significant change in the group’s strategy, however, its decision to join al-Qa’ida’s global jihad should be understood as an act of desperation....