Death penalty for terrorist chieftain Droukdel together with eight of his henchmen

The Skikda criminal Court on Sunday sentenced to death in absentia, the ringleader of what is known as the terrorist “organization in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM) namely Abdelmalek Droukdel 47 years old, nicknamed “Abu Mossâb Abdelwadoud” hailing from the municipality of Mehtah in central Blida province, along with eight other terrorists, aged between 25 and 45 years old.

The latter reportedly hail mostly from the eastern provinces of Constantine, Mila, Skikda, Annaba and Jijel, and are still on the run.

The Algerian state authorities have issued international warrants against them notably to the attention of Interpol for their arrest, both inside and outside the national territory, and handing them over to the Algerian justice for trial. 

The charges leveled against them include multiple assassinations, kidnappings and attacks with explosives as part of an armed terrorist organization.

These nefarious terrorists are considered as the masterminds of terrorist organizations that are active inside and outside the country, particularly in the Sahel region, and have thus been convicted to death by the criminal court for a string of cowardly terrorist attacks which notably led to the murder of two Army officers hailing from Tlemcen and Tebessa way back in September 2015.