Al-Qaeda collected huge sums of money through kidnappings: minister says

Talking in the upper house of the parliament, the interior minister, Yazid Zerhouni revealed that 115 cases of kidnappings in 375 recorded over the year 2007 were linked to terrorism.Following these operations, the minister added, the overall sum of the ransom demanded by the terrorists to release their victims was estimated at more that 60 billions Algerian Dinars, but they collected only 20 since the security services aborted several attempts led by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The leader of this organization, Abdelamalek Droudkel , has succeeded to collect some 20 billions Algerian Dinars last year only and used the money to finance several terrorist operations the different operations. This new strategy has been implemented these last few years by the organization after the drying up of the traditional sources of financing with the dismantling of several supporting networks by security services.

Both the towns of Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes, known as the strongholds of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, witnessed the biggest kidnapping operations through which huge sums of money have been asked by the terrorist to release either rich entrepreneurs or one of their relatives in return.