CAIRO Ñ Algeria's military launched its largest air
attack on Islamic insurgents in more than two years.
Algerian sources said the attack was led by Su-24 bombers and Mi-24
attack helicopters in the northern part of the country. They said the target
was the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call, a splinter group of the
largest Islamic insurgency network, the Armed Islamic Group.
Algerian air and ground forces pounded Salafist
strongholds on Monday and Tuesday in the governorate of Skikdah near the
Moroccan border, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said an undetermined number of insurgents were
killed and injured.
The last major air operation against Islamic insurgency strongholds took
place last January, the source said. They said the current operation
combines air and ground units with the heavy use of Russian attack
helicopters.
"The intensification of the fight against terrorism by my country should
not create confusion between the crimes of terrorist groups and Islam, a
religion of peace, equity, tolerance and which respects human dignity,"
Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika said prior to the offensive.
The Salafist stronghold is said to be composed of several buildings in
remote areas of northern Skikidah. The group, led by Hassan Khatab, is also
said to be operating near the capital Algiers.
Algerian newspapers been reporting intensified military operations
against the Salafist over the last month. They said the military operation
began in the northeastern Kabylie province with heavy artillery shelling
in the Djurdjura mountains. The offensive then moved to the nearby areas in
the Bejaia region to which Salafist insurgents fled.
The sources said Algeria has received aid and training from such
countries as France, South Korea and the United States in counterinsurgency
operations. They said Russia has delivered most of the upgraded 22 Su-24
fighter-bombers to Algeria, some of which are believed to have already seen
action over the last few months.
Algeria has also sought counterinsurgency cooperation with Indonesia.
Bouteflika met Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the two men
discussed a range of security cooperation.
On Wednesday, Algeria hosted African governments to discuss cooperation
against insurgents. Morocco, Algeria's neighbor and rival, does not plan to
attend the four-day meeting.
