Army seizes six quintals of explosives in southeastern Algeria

Algerian army foiled an attempt to provide a workshop with explosives at the stronghold of the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in March's first week in Biskra province (south of Algiers), according to close sources.

A refrigerator truck loaded with six quintals of potassium nitrate and aluminum which was coming from El Oued province (southeast of Algiers) to Biskra was seized.

 Investigations showed that the explosives seizure indicated Al-Qaeda’s new method to carry out attacks in southeastern Algeria.

The truck driver who belongs to a terror support cell was appointed by a wanted terrorist to take the explosives to a terrorist in Biskra. He was jailed on Saturday after investigation.

According to observers, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in southeastern Algeria is turning to carry out attacks using hand-made bombs while military capacities and individuals are going down in field.

It is believed that Al-Qaeda led by Abdelmalek Drudkel would have chosen that method after it failed to carry out attacks in its main strongholds. Groups specialized in making bombs in southeastern Algeria were directly involved in an assassination attempt against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in September 2007 in Batna province (east of Algiers).

 Al-Qaeda’s command is working on intensifying its acts in southeastern Algeria while the noise has been tightened on its strongholds in the east.Its new strategy is based on reducing its deployment areas and limiting its acts in Algeria’s southeast and east to reduce security embargo on it in Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzou and Bouira provinces (50 to 100 km east of Algiers).