Terror’s North African front

While news from Africa has lately focused on the nearly-avoided establishment of an Islamist government in Somalia, there is another looming Islamist threat that deserves close attention as it expands in scope.   Recent evidence suggests that a militant Sunni Islamist group based in Northern Africa and tied to al-Qaeda – the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (known by its French acronym, GSPC) – is broadening its reach, with deadly consequences.

Faithful Followers – Not Just Empty Rhetoric

Although GSPC is a relatively small group – whose membership diminished into the several hundreds following an amnesty offered by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 1999 – it continues to carry out deadly attacks on a widespread scale in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.   In addition to conducting terrorist acts – which increasingly target westerners – GSPC has expanded its mission to include the provision of training and funding for other terrorist groups and the recruitment of jihadists for the war in Iraq. 

Through the GSPC, extremists are exploiting the abundant pool of young, jobless men inhabiting the region.   Cells spread their Islamist propaganda and calls to join the jihad by distributing CDs.   Recruits have come from Nigeria, Mauritania, Mali and perhaps elsewhere.   As explained by Fernando Reinares, an international terrorism analyst at Madrid’s Elcano Institute, "The GSPC has become more committed to targeting Westerners, including civilians, and to mobilizing recruits for Iraq," and its operatives pose a danger to southern Europe in addition to northwest Africa.  

If there is any doubt of GSPC’s clarity of purpose, one need look no further than the group’s pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2003, along with its recent name change to "al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb."   In a video released in early January of this year, GSPC leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud communicated the following message to Usama bin Laden:

Our precious Shaykh and Commander…Our swords are drawn and we are risking our lives, as we consider nothing too precious to sacrifice for the sake of the victory of Islam…In the name of Allah, we will not disappoint you as long as we have a pulse in one of our veins and an eye that can blind.   Our Shaykh, regardless of what happens, you will only find obedience in us, Allah willing.

This indicated a favorable response to a video released in September of 2006 by al-Qaeda’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, who appealed to GSPC to work against Western interests, specifically the United States and France.  

Murderous Actions – Not Just Vague Threats

Since its inception, GSPC has engaged in deadly clashes with Algerian and Tunisian security forces – for example, claiming responsibility for the April 2002 truck-bomb attack on a synagogue in Djerba, in which 21 people were killed, including 14 German tourists.   And only this past Tuesday, GSPC claimed responsibility for yet another terrorist attack in Algeria, as seven bombs went off almost simultaneously, killing six people east of the capital Algiers in the elaborate assault.

More recently, in late December 2006, GSPC specifically targeted Westerners in an attack on a bus carrying contract workers for the construction firm Brown & Root – Condor.   The ambush resulted in the killing of an Algerian driver and wounded one American, four Britons, two Lebanese, a Canadian and an Algerian.   GSPC claimed responsibility, stating:

Allah…has guided a group of mujahideen in executing an operation that targeted crusaders working for the American company Brown & Root – Condor in Bouchaoui, on the road between Algiers and Zeralda…This operation is a modest gift that we offer to our Muslim brothers who are suffering from the misfortunes of the new Crusade that is targeting Islam and its sanctuaries.

Of particular concern is the fact that the group involved in the December attack – carried out by five Tunisians and one Mauritanian – crossed into Tunisia through the country’s sprawling desert border with Algeria, reminiscent of the manner in which Afghanistan’s deserts have harbored Islamic militants.

On January 12 of this year, Tunisian Interior Minister Rafik Haj Kacem announced the dismantlement of a GSPC cell, following a three-week period of separate gun battles between Tunisian security forces and the terrorists.   This resulted in the seizure of explosives, embassy maps and lists of foreign diplomats.  

And Moroccan authorities announced that same month that a radical Islamist network recruiting jihadist volunteers to fight in Iraq was broken up, resulting in the arrest of 62 would-be terrorists.   The network was reported as having solid ideological, financial, and operational ties to GSPC and the alleged leader of the group, 36-year-old Tunisian Abu Hashem, is a veteran of the Bosnia, Chechnya, and Afghanistan jihads, and has worked with jihadist cells operating in Northern Italy.   Hashem, in fact, was indicted in April 2005 in Milan, but left Italy before resurfacing to run operations in Tunisia.

Indicating the growing expanse of GSPC operations, in late-December 2006, the 10th and 11th stages of the Paris-Dakar Auto Rally race were cancelled on the advice of the French secret service, who believed GSPC might call upon 500 armed followers across the Sahara to carry out attacks.

Furthermore, reports suggest the group has established ties to the Moroccan terrorists responsible for the 2004 Madrid bombings.   The arrest of Moroccan terrorist Mbark El Jaafari – who may have received military training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in 2001 – in the Spanish town of Reus is another of the latest examples of a GSPC–al-Qaeda presence in Europe and recruitment for fighting in Iraq.   In fact, according to Spanish police, GSPC has sent 32 recruits to Iraq to launch suicide attacks since May of 2006.  

Part of a Global Islamist Movement

To the Islamists it does not matter if we choose to limit our scope of attention to Iraq or Afghanistan.   The enemy is constantly on the march and will continue to wage war wherever Sharia law does not rule.   GSPC is only one example of a group sharing al-Qaeda’s ideology and international agenda.   It is a template repeated around the world, from the Egyptian group Jamaat al Islamiya, to Lashkar-i-Tayyaba in South Asia.

As detailed above, this radical Islamist group with origins in, and operating out of, Africa poses a threat to our allies in Europe and Americans in Iraq.   We cannot ignore their capability and willingness to wage jihad.   Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud said in his call to arms and appeal to al Qaeda, "Come dear brothers, and help Allah and his messenger!..Come and earn the honor of participating in the current Islamic battle between the camp of the believers and the camp of the infidels!"   It is time to fight back.