North Africa

Last Updated (Tuesday, 23 March 2010 10:12) Written by Laith Alkhouri Tuesday, 23 March 2010 10:01

On March 17, 2010, Al‐Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) issued a communiqué demanding that the Iranian government release members of Usama Bin Laden’s family who are currently being held in Iran. AQIM stated, “Based on the principle(s) of unity and Muslim partisanship, we condemn the extension of the imprisonment of the family of our Shaykh Usama, may Allah protect him, and we call for their release and [ask that they be] provided with the freedom to choose the destination they seek.” AQIM “call[ed] upon the reasonable [decision‐makers] in the Iranian regime to review their calculations in this case” and urged them to “bring openness to the obstacles of weakened Muslims in Iran’s prisons”

AQIM: “The Annihilation of the Muslims in Nigeria”

Last Updated (Friday, 02 April 2010 12:31) Written by Laith Alkhouri Monday, 01 February 2010 00:00

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a communiqué from Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) titled “The Annihilation of the Muslims in Nigeria; A New Episode in the Continuous Crusade War”, in which AQIM emir Abu Musab Abdul Wadud told the Nigerian people, “We are ready to train your children to use weapons and will supply them with all we can, including support and men, weapons, ammunitions and equipment, in order to defend our people in Nigeria and respond against the aggression of the Christian minority. So, push your children to the fields of preparation and jihad to form the vanguards to fight for and defend against the blood and honors of Muslims in Nigeria, which resists the declared Crusader war.” He added, “Brothers and beloved ones in Nigeria, the path to salvation away from these continuous massacres against you by the Christian minority, and the only solution to gain back your rights and resources, and the legitimate way that will secure your faith, pride and presence before this wicked Crusader war practiced against you, is to take matters using force, which is represented in preparation and jihad for the sake of Allah, and a good example for you to follow is the experience of your brothers in Somalia who resisted against the Crusader Ethiopia…”

AQIM Demands Release of Abu Qatada in Exchange for British Hostage

Last Updated (Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00) Written by Evan Kohlmann Wednesday, 29 April 2009 19:00

In February 2009, the NEFA Foundation published a communiqué from Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of U.N. special envoy for Niger Robert Fowler, his Canadian aide Louis Guay, and four European tourists. According to the statement, Fowler and Guay were kidnapped two months ago, while the European tourists -- identified as Edwen Dyer (England), Marianne Petzold (Germany), Werner Greiner (Switzerland) and Gabriella Burco Greiner (Switzerland) -- were seized on January 22nd. While Fowler, Guay, Petzold, and Grabriella Burco Greiner were relecently released, the NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué in which AQIM has given the British government 20 days to release Abu Qatada to secure Dyer's freedom. According to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Abu Qatada “has given encouragement to the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism overseas by providing spiritual and religous advice to a number of extreme Islamists prepared to carry out terrorist attacks...These groups and networks include the Al Qa’eda network, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ)."

AQIM Claims Kidnapping of U.N. Envoy & Four European Tourists

Last Updated (Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00) Written by Evan Kohlmann Saturday, 21 February 2009 19:00

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué, dated February 18, from Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of U.N. special envoy for Niger Robert Fowler, his Canadian aide Louis Guay, and four European tourists. According to the statement, Fowler and Guay were kidnapped two months ago, while the European tourists -- identified as Edwen Dyer (England), Marianne Petzold (Germany), Werner Greiner (Switzerland) and Gabriella Burco Greiner (Switzerland) -- were seized on January 22nd. The statement added that "the mujahideen reserve their right in treating the prisoners in accordance with Islamic Shari'a."

AQIM Denies Surrender of Commander Abou Tamim Amine

Last Updated (Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00) Written by Evan Kohlmann Sunday, 15 February 2009 19:00

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new communiqué, dated February 3, denying reports of the surrender of Abou Tamim Amine (a.k.a. "Ben Touati Ali"). According to the statement, “following the… imprisonment of Brother Amine-the commander of the al-Ansar Brigade, may Allah protect him-last week while traveling en route to a jihadi mission, several news agencies mentioned the news, and they cited two stories. The first story, the accurate one, included the phrase 'the capture of.' But, the other false story is the one that certain media agencies, directed by the intelligence agencies, rushed to report-alleging that Brother Amine had surrendered to the apostates, and that he had served as their agent for a long while. From this, a bigger lie was extracted, built upon the first lie: namely, that our organization has been infiltrated from top down… Accordingly, we strongly deny the news of the surrender of Brother Amine, the commander of the al-Ansar Brigade (central zone)-may may Allah free him from his shackles-and we confirm that our brother was captured last week while in the midst of a jihadi mission. We ask Allah to ease his hardship, and allow us to liberate our prisoners from the Algerian Guantanamo."