Belmokhtar: African Networks in the Global Jihad

In his September 10 address to the nation, President Obama highlighted his plan for managing the group he calls ISIL. Among the terror group’s acronyms, some might interpret the President’s choice of the one which includes Israel (the L is for the Levant) as ceding some legitimacy to the name. The Islamic State does pose an immediate threat to international security on a scale the world never saw with Al-Qaeda, and it must be destroyed. But defeating these groups in the Middle East will not solve the growing problem of radical Islam in Africa. Such groups – Boko Haram, AQIM, Al-Shabaab – are as dangerous as IS and greatly threaten stability within the African continent. One man in particular is of great concern, and has shown his ability to conduct attacks time and time again.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, until last year, was potentially unknown outside of the intelligence and national security communities. That changed when his group, “Signers in Blood Batallion,” attacked and commandeered an internationally run oil field in Algeria in January 2013. This action lasted for nearly four days and resulted in the deaths of nearly 40 individuals, three of whom were American. A few months later, Belmokhtar led two separate attacks in Niger: One was at the uranium production facility in Arlit. The other was on a French military base 150 miles away from the city of Agadez.

Belmokhtar is not a novice when it comes to these types of attacks. At the age of nineteen, he left Algeria (his birthland) to train with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and is considered to have been very close to Osama Bin Laden, even naming one of his sons after Bin Laden. Belmokhtar himself claims to have made contact with the likes of Jordanian Al-Qaeda supporters Abu Qatada and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. He was a founding member of the Al-Qaeda affiliate in the Maghreb and one of its leaders until he split from the group to form his new group. Some believe he was forced out. Others claim he left due to differences on how the group should conduct activities. No matter the reason, Belmokhtar has stated time and time again his support for the imposition of Shariah Law in Northern Africa, primarily Mali. Any foreign intervention would be viewed as an attack against Muslim people, prompting a response.

It is now reported that Belmokhatr has been recruiting and training Syrians in Libya and the Sahel region. Are terrorist groups in Syria sending them to him? Are these “recruits” to be members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, or his own group? Belmokhtar could be doing so to use the Sahara region as a launching pad for attacks against the United States, Europe, and inside Africa. But given his connections in the region, Belmokhtar could eventually link up with terrorist groups operating in Syria and the Middle East, ISIS included, with the likelihood to form a larger terrorist group that could span the African coasts, while also leading attacks on the West.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar has proven as of late to be a threat. His ability to traverse the poorly guarded borders of the African countries in the Sahara region is an immediate issue that must be addressed by these countries and the United States, especially as President Obama’s Security Governance Initiative begins to be implemented. Unstopped, Belmokhtar will likely carry out more attacks. Stopping Belmokhtar will not be the end-all solution to Islamic extremism in Africa, as greater initiatives are need to combat these groups in the continent. Rather, his existence is symptomatic of an ideology that can take form and spread with few limitations in Africa.