Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — A leading Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb fighter has been killed in Algeria.

The Algerian Defense Ministry said a senior AQIM commander was killed in an ambush in the Kabylie region, about 80 kilometers east of Algiers, on Sept. 21. The ministry said the fighter, later identified only as Mahmoudi, was a “dangerous terrorist.”

“In the framework of the battle against terrorism, a detachment of troops in Tizi Ouzou eliminated a dangerous terrorist behind many of the crimes in the region,” the Defense Ministry said on Sept. 22.

The Defense Ministry statement did not specify Mahmoudi’s activities. But security sources Mahmoudi, also known as Le Mancho, has been involved with the Islamic revolt in Algeria since at least 1995.

The statement said the army also captured an AK-47 assault rifle as well as ammunition. AQIM did not acknowledge the loss of Mahmoudi.

  AQIM, Tizi Ouzou, Veteran Al Qaida commander said killed in Algeria ambush, WorldTribune.com