The Algerian Interior Ministry said security forces have arrested the
leader of the Armed Islamic Group. The GIA commander was identified as
Boulenouar Oukil, and his arrest was regarded as a lethal blow to the
struggling insurgency group.
The ministry said Oukil was arrested last week in the mountains south of
Algiers. In addition, Algerian forces captured GIA operative Mohammed Hama
as well as large quantity of weapons.
Over the last five years, the GIA has been eclipsed by the splinter
Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call. The Salafists were said to have
several hundred operatives in Algeria, bolstered by Al Qaida fugitives from
Afghanistan, Middle East Newsline reported.
The GIA has been whittled from more than 2,000 members in the 1990s to
fewer than 50 today, Algerian security sources said. They said Oukil tried
to prevent the last GIA operatives from surrendering to authorities in
return for consideration of amnesty.
The sources said the GIA was said to have been responsible for the
killing of 14 people near Aarba on April 7. Oukil has been accused of
establishing a fake roadblock in which civilian cars were stopped and their
passengers executed.
The London-based Al Hayat daily reported on April 29 that Al Qaida
fighters have sought to establish a refuge in the mountains
of southern Algeria. The newspaper said 23 Islamic insurgents captured
recently in Algeria were believed to be connected to Al Qaida.
The report said Al Qaida has offered to help fund and train the
Salafists. The Salafists would then be used in Al Qaida
operations throughout North Africa.
