Book: Ben Laden’s story with armed groups in Algeria

« Jihadist » websites circulate a book untitled ‘Letters from Cheikh Oussama’s notebook and the story of his support to Algerian jihad.’ Its author named himself Abu Akram Hicham.

The author tells how Ben Laden was interested in Algeria and the attempt of Morocco to seize the opportunity about Western Sahara.

« Morocco is one of the countries where Jihadists were not stopped as the regime ignored them due to the Western Sahara issue. It wanted to put pressure on the Algerian regime,” says the book.

Early in the 1990’s, Morocco sheltered the leader of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Abdelhak Laaida and tried to blackmail Algeria in return for his extradition.

According to the author, Algerian terrorists in Morocco asked Ben Laden for help. He received them in Sudan and set up an information section in his office where their publications are edited.

Ben Laden tried to use an arab charity association to turn the big Sahara into a terror hotspot. He assigned envoys to Niger yet authorities arrested them.

Ben Laden had started being interested in Algeria in May 1991 as legislative elections had been banned.

“Cheikh [Ben Laden] found that it was the good time to launch Jihad,” said the author.