Al Qaida kills clerics in Algeria who criticized insurgency
CAIRO — Al Qaida militants are hunting down clerics in Algeria who cooperate with the government's counter-insurgency campaign.
Algerian sources said the new Al Qaida Organization of the Islamic
Maghreb has targeted Muslim clerics critical of the Islamic insurgency
network. The sources said Al Qaida operatives have raided mosques and killed
their preachers.
On March 16, two Muslim clerics were executed by Al Qaida in a raid
during evening prayer, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said four Al Qaida gunmen burst into the
crowded mosque in Megueren, forced 300 congregants to lie with their faces
to the ground. Megueren is a village in the Oued province in southern
Algeria.
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The sources said Al Qaida has been targeting Muslim clerics believed to
have been cooperating with the government's counter-insurgency campaign.
Algerian state-financed clerics have been directed to watch their
congregants for Al Qaida recruiters.
Al Qaida has been targeting clerics and other civilians amid the
Algerian military offensive about 50 kilometers east of Algiers. According to Algerian
media reports, 23 Al Qaida fighters were killed over the last few
days. In southern Algeria, military and security units captured a huge
amount rockets, rifles and ammunition believed meant for Al Qaida.
Following the execution in Megueren, the gunmen searched for their victims. Two Muslim preachers,
identified as Mohammed and Abdul Jabar Haroun, ages 35 and 32,
respectively, were bound with wire and shot in the head. Ahmed was also
employed as a fireman.
The two Haroun cousins were regarded as so-called moderate Salafists.
Salafists believe in a literal interpretation of Islam, including holy war
against non-Muslims.
