The U.S. Treasury today designated Abdelmalek Droukdel (Droukdel), the leader or emir of Al Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), formerly known as the GSPC. Any assets he might have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are prohibited from doing business with him.
From the Treasury statement:
Droukdel reportedly supervised the April 2007 AQIM bombings of the Prime Minister's office and police facilities in Algiers, killing 33. Droukdel used an April 2007 Internet video addressing these bombings as a vehicle to urge his followers to become suicide bombers. He also ordered the December 2006 attack on a U.S. company's bus in Algiers that killed one and wounded nine, including a U.S. citizen. Further, Droukdel ordered the March 2006 assassination of a former AQIM leader who had surrendered to Algerian authorities.
Olivier Guitta, Evan Kohlmann, and others have posted numerous times on the Algerian-based AQIM, which "merged" with al Qaida in 2006. GSPC was named as an Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization on September 23, 2001, and was added to the UN's list of al Qaida associates on October 6, 2001. You can read the Interpol dossier on Droukdel.
No comments:
Post a Comment