January 17, 2009
Al Qaeda in North Africa Kills One
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is being blamed for the murder of an Algerian customs official. What's worrying about this particular case is that they apparently set up a road block and were checking vehicles as they came through. This smacks of the tactics used by al Qaeda in Iraq at the height of the insurgency when the group actually controlled large swaths of territory.
Keep an eye out for upticks in violence in North Africa and do me a solid by emailing me reports like this.
AFP:
An Algerian customs officer was killed by armed Islamists west of Algiers, newspapers reported Saturday.The 35-year-old official had his throat slit after being stopped at a fake barricade put up and manned by about 10 armed Islamists at Miliana near Ain Defla, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) from the capital, El Khabar newspaper said, adding that it took place early Friday.
