Al-Qaeda recruits 70 foreign suicide bombers in Algeria

The number of « foreign terrorists » at the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is estimated at 70. Most of them moved to training camps of the ex- Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) to join then the Iraqi resistance, according to security sources.

It is believed that the foreign terrorists come from Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger and have been deployed in eastern, southern and northern Algeria.

The Moroccans, Mauritanians and Libyans are following training sessions on weapons, bombs and suicide attacks while Malian and the natives of Niger are recruited in terror support cells.

According to observers, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb tries to transfer those foreigners to its strongholds in order to extend its acts aspect from local to regional.

Abdelkader Ben Messoud alias Musab Abu Daoud, a senior leader at the GSPC who surrendered in 2007 revealed that 7 foreigners from Mali, Niger and Mauritania used to be group’s members but they left Algeria because of the bad situation in it.

 Those terrorists constitute Al-Qaeda’s rear-guards. Some of the arrested for the assassination of French tourists in Mauritania had been trained in Algeria.  The GSPC’s aim is to reach a regional level especially that Al-Zawahiri had urged to support al-Qaeda’s wing in North Africa.