Number Of Arrested In Joining ISIS Reaches 13 Accused In Telemcen

An investigating judge at the Tlemcen court (western Algeria), deposed, on Tuesday, 13 defendants in the case of belonging to a dangerous terrorist organization and planning riots, which the Popular National Army had recently dismantled, as the news were published recently by Echorouk newspaper about the arrest of five involved, and the continued investigations that revealed the identity of the rest of those involved.

Number of defendants who were brought to justice reached 13 in the most dangerous dismantled cell, especially as it included young recruits to join ISIS, and who were planning to conduct New Year’s attacks at the level of Tlemcen (western Algeria.

According to reliable sources, the arrested came from the districts of Daliya, al-Kodiya, the Kalaa and Ujlidah in Tlemcen, and other defendants are from Oued Lakhdar municipality, which was a stronghold of terrorism during the black decade. 

The list of detainees included an engineer who works for a national oil institution in Hassi Messaoud (southern Algeria), 8 merchants, including two former terrorists, who served a 10-year sentence in the 1990s, a teacher and three students.

Security investigations found that members of the cell are in contact with ISIS elements, through Messenger, as evidenced by the documents about their allegiance of the Iraqi terrorist organization Iraqi leader, called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the willingness of some of the detainees to travel and join the fronts of fighting in Syria, through Turkey and the UAE, as evidenced by the visas in their biometric passports.

They also revealed the presence of seven other members who were in contact with the cell members, indicating that they joined the terrorist groups in Syria, including four youth from the state of Telemcen (western Algeria), who are distributed through the towns of eFlaoussen, Henin and Tlemcen neighborhoods. 

A number of charges were brought against the detainees, the most important of which is the formation of a criminal gang, membership in a terrorist group, praising and encouraging terrorism, possession of banned propaganda materials (jihadist books and videos of terrorist operations), possession of white weapons and swords. 

In addition, security services seized significant sums of money in the national currency and the Turkish currency that were in their possession.