http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/
Al Qaida seeks to revive Salafists after punishing counter-terror campaign by Algerians The United States has assessed that a leading Islamic insurgency group has been badly hurt. U.S. officials said the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call sustained a series of sharp blows that have hurt its capability. But officials said Al Qaida has sought to bolster the Salafist Brigade with new funding and missions. Al Qaida could be helping insurgents who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq to enter Algeria and the surrounding Sahara region in an attempt to revive the Salafist organization. Until 2003, the Salafist Brigade was regarded as the leading contractor for Al Qaida and the largest insurgency group in Algeria. The decline in the Salafists came in March 2004 when the Algerian military drove elements of the group out of the country. Salafist operatives then sustained heavy losses in U.S.-assisted military operations in Chad and Nigeria. "I think the GSPC [Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call] is pretty much a dead issue," Gen. Charles Wald, deputy commander of U.S. European Command, said in a briefing. Wald, whose command includes Africa, said the Salafist force has declined to no more than several hundred operatives. In 2002, the Salafists were said to number as many as 4,500. Officials said Algeria has scored major successes in killing Salafist leaders and breaking the chain of command. They cited the flight of Amari Saifi, regarded as the No. 3 member of the organization and responsible for the abduction of 32 Western Europeans in the Sahara desert in February 2003. A rebel group in Chad has captured Saifi, also known as Abdul Razik the paratrooper. The group, Movement for Democracy and Justice, has demanded a ransom to transfer Razik to Algeria. U.S. European Command has helped several African countries trace and attack Salafist operatives. Officials said the Salafists lost up to 60 operatives in battles in Chad in early 2004. About two-thirds of the operatives were killed while the rest were captured. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
