Excerpted from the ENN Intelligence Report-03/06/97- Vol. 3, No. 065

ALGERIAN TERRORIST GROUPS ...
By Steve Macko, ENN Editor

Between 250 and 300 people, and probably more, died in terrorist violence during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Algeria. Ramadan began on 10 January and during that time some of the murdered victims included a 13-month-old baby, a strangled 12-year-old boy and five girls had their throats cut.

The most rutless of Algeria's Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups is the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). Days before Ramadan began, the GIA issued a warning that it did intend to increase its attacks during Ramadan -- and the group lived up to its promise.

But the GIA is not responsible for all the violent deaths in Algeria. The U.S. State Department and the human rights group Amnesty International have said that Algerian security forces carry out some of the killings. But all-in-all, two terrorists groups have dominated the conflict that has killed about 60,000 people since December of 1991.

The Armed Islamic Group is made up mainly of young supporters who use knives, guns and bombs against civilians and security forces alike. They spare neither babies or the elderly. To the GIA, everyone is a legitimate target.

The GIA is led by one Antar Zouabri. In a recent statement, Zouabri said: "There is no neutrality in the war we lead. Except for those who are with us, all the others are renagade."

The GIA has claimed responsibility for massacres that have occurred in isolated communities and bombings in and around the capital of Algiers. They were also largely responsible for hijacking an Air France jetliner on 24 December 1994, in which four GIA members were killed in a raid on the plane in Marseille.

The Armed Islamic Group has also condemned all foreigners to death if they choose to stay in Algeria. One GIA leader told a newspaper that foreigners are "the main coronary artery" of a plan to "colonize" Algeria with non-Muslims. He said, "Killing and fighting them is the practical message to weaken the unbeliver rulers."

The following is the U.S. State Department profile of the GIA:

Armed Islamic Group (GIA)

Description: An Islamic extremist group, the GIA aims to overthrow the secular Algerian regime and replace it with an Islamic state. The GIA began its violent activities in early 1992 after Algiers voided the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS)--the largest Islamic party--in the first round of December 1991 legislative elections.

Activities: Frequent attacks against regime targets--particularly security personnel and government officials--civilians, journalists, teachers, and foreign residents. Since announcing its terrorist campaign against foreigners living in Algeria in September 1993, the GIA has killed about 100 expatriate men and women--mostly Europeans--in the country. The GIA uses assassinations and bombings, including car bombs, and it is known to favor kidnapping victims and slitting their throats. The GIA hijacked an Air France flight to Algiers in December 1994, and suspicions centered on the group for a series of bombings in France in 1995.

Strength: Unknown, probably several hundred to several thousand.

Location: Algeria.

External Aid: Algerian expatriates, many of whom reside in Western Europe, provide some financial and logistic support. In addition, the Algerian Government has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting Algerian extremists, and severed diplomatic relations with Iran in March 1993.

Islamic Salvation Front

The second largest terrorist group in Algeria is the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS). This group has rapidly established itself and is said to be the armed wing of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS).

Most of the AIS followers are said to be young, fanatical and are driven by the belief that they have little to lose in fighting the government. Where the AIS and the FIS differ from the GIA is that they claim they are not responsible for the indiscriminate killing of civilians or bombings. They are only interested in fighting the Algerian security forces.

Algerian Jihad Islamic Front

Another lesser known group is the Algerian Jihad Islamic Front (FIDA). This group claimed responsibility for the assassination of Algerian union leader Abdelhak Benhamouda. FIDA is believed to be the armed wing of the Muslim fundamentalist group known as al-Djazaraa. The goal of this group, like the others, is to turn Algeria into a purely Islamic state like Iran.

The Faithful of the Sermon is another lesser known group that has issued statements like Algeria's future will be "more bloody and the earth will tremble under the feet of the tyrannical regime."

The following is an ERRI database list of Algerian terrorist incidents during Ramadan of 1997:

12 January: At least 14 people were killed in the village of Tabainat; Five girls are kidnapped and have their throats cut in the village of Haouch Englise.

14 January: Nine people are found dead in Algiers, Djebel Koulou and Bab Ali.

16 January: Four terrorists are killed in a seven-hour shootout with security forces in Algiers. Area residents say at least ten were killed; At least 12 people were killed when a bomb explodes at a car market in Boufarik.

19 January: A car bomb explodes in Algiers killing 21 people and wounding 60 others; At least 36 people are murdered in the village of Sidi Abdelaziz.

20 January: A bomb explodes near a girls school in Algiers. No injuries were reported.

21 January: Six people are killed and 44 others are wounded when a car bomb explodes in Algiers; Five hours later, one person is killed when a bomb goes off near a children's merry- go-round in Algiers.

22 January: A car bomb kills seven people in a village near Boufarik.

26 January: Gunmen kill activist Said Rabhi.

28 January: Top Algerian union leader Abdelhak Benhamouda is shot and killed in Algiers.

30 January: Former Algerian army General Habib Khelil is killed by a gunshot to the head in Oran; Eight people are murdered in Sidi Moussa.

2 February: At least 31 people are massacred in the village of Medea.

3 February: In a village near Larba, seven people are killed.

4 February: Nine members of a family have their heads cut off in al-Khabar and el-Watan; Media reports say that Algerian security forces have killed 28 terrorists.

(C) Copyright by The EmergencyNet News Service, 1997. All rights Reserved. Redistribution with permission is prohibited.

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