Over 130 Algerian Fighters In The Ranks Of ISIS In Libya

The Washington Institute for the Near East Policy revealed on the number of foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS in Libya, expecting the total of foreign fighters between 4000 and 5000 individuals, and shows statistics on fighters of the organization from various Arab and Western countries.

According to the 28-page report, titled “The Others: Foreign Fighters in Libya”, the number of Tunisians who were most involved in the terrorist organization reached 1,500 fighters, adding that Moroccans occupy the second place after the Tunisian fighters with 300, while the Algerians rank Third with no more than 130 fighters, followed by Egyptians and Sudanese with 112 and 100 fighters respectively.

The report pointed to the presence of elements from a Western country such as France with 66 elements, Britain, 36, the United States of America with ten elements, Spain with three elements, in addition to the nationalities of Canada, Bosnia and Belgium, and nationals from Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, without mentioning the number.

International reports, whether issued by the United Nations, or institutes that deal with the security issue such as Carnegie Foundation, confirm that Algerians are not attracted to armed organizations abroad, compared to nationals of neighboring countries. This is what the researcher in “Jihadist Thought” and “Islamist Extremism” at the Carnegie Foundation for Peace in the Middle East, Dalia Ghanem Yazbek, said.

“The terrorist organization, which calls itself ISIS, can not recruit young people in Algeria, since the state and its institutions are strong and security services are well equipped”, she added.

She explained in a study that was published months ago, that “when we see where ISIS succeeded, as in Libya or in Iraq, which are –  collapsed countries – it is very difficult for this terrorist organization to succeed in a country like Algeria where the state and its institutions are strong and security forces are equipped with the best processing, and have more than 10 years of experience in the field of counter-terrorism”.

“ISIS was unable to recruit young people in Algeria, as is the case in Iraq, Syria and Libya”, adding that the reasons for this are multiple, especially the experience of the black decade, where Algerians did not forget the shock of what they lived in the nineties.

According to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, the collapse of the capital Damascus and Syria forced Libya to accept the situation because of the situation in which the EU is concerned, because of its proximity to the region, which requires concerted efforts between the African and European continents.

“There are about 1,000 women fighters in the ranks of ISIS in Libya, including 300 Tunisians; and their role is limited to marriage, support of their husbands and fighters, in addition to having children”.