Al Qaida agent surrenders in Algeria: 'I felt guilty'
CAIRO — A leading Al Qaida operative has surrendered to authorities in
Algeria.
Algerian security sources identified the agent as Abu Abdul Rahman, an
information specialist with the new Al Qaida Organization for the Islamic Maghreb.
"I felt guilty, and I regret what I was doing," Abdul Rahman was quoted
as saying in the Algerian daily newspaper Liberte.
Abdul Rahman was identified as the deputy to Al Qaida network chief
spokesman Salah Qasami, also known as Abu Mohammed Salah. Abdul Rahman, who
surrendered in October, was said to have opposed Al Qaida's policy of
suicide bombings and attacks on civilians.
The sources said Abdul Rahman cited the Al Qaida execution of an
Algerian guard in the Tizi Ouzou province in the spring of 2007. He was said
to have witnessed the killing.
Abdul Rahman had been a key component of Al Qaida's information network,
the sources said. They said he would regularly post Al Qaida communiques and
detail claims of attacks on Algerian regime installations.
The
sources said Abdul Rahman had been in contact with Algerian authorities for
several months on the terms of his surrender. President Abdul Aziz
Bouteflika has offered an amnesty to many Islamic insurgents.
For his part, Qasami was arrested in the province over the last week. It
was not clear whether Abdul Rahman provided information that led to Qasami's
arrest.
In a related development, an Algerian court released a man identified as
a leading Al Qaida operative. Mohammed Salmi, accused of being the No. 2
member of the new Al Qaida Organization for the Islamic Maghreb, was
released on Monday after being cleared of charges of armed robbery and
membership in a terrorist organization.
