January 13, 2008:
Islamic terrorism
killed 491 people in 2007, up sharply from 126 in 2006. In reaction to their
defeat in Iraq (where 500 terrorism deaths a month is a low figure), many al
Qaeda operators are moving to North Africa, where it's safer (American soldiers
and marines are farther away). December saw a spike in terrorism related
deaths; 56 (versus six in November).
A year ago, a six month amnesty for
Islamic terrorists attracted 300 people who turned themselves in. The amnesty did
not cover those who committed murder, which may be why some 800 Islamic
terrorists remained active. As part of the amnesty deal, some 2,200 imprisoned
terrorists were freed. A few of these
have since been found involved in Islamic terrorism again. Some 15 years of Islamic
terrorism left over 200,000 dead and caused some $20 billion in economic
damage. Thousands of Islamic radicals have fled the country, and continue to
plan and carry out terrorist acts in Europe and the Middle East.
The
remaining terrorists in Algeria have little popular support, and survive by
terrorizing civilians into providing food and other necessities. The army has
located several groups of Islamic terrorists in mountains and forests, and continues
to try and bring the terrorists in, or kill them. In response, the terrorists
have switched tactics, concentrating on fewer attacks, each designed to kill
the maximum number of people. These attacks also feature the use of suicide
bombers, something rarely encountered in Algeria before 2006.
January 11, 2008: In Guinea-Bissau, two
al Qaeda members were arrested and charged with the December murder, in Mauritania,
of four French tourists. This crime caused alarm in the region, which has
benefitted from a growing number of tourists. Islamic terrorists hate Western tourists,
although Moslems are a minority in West Africa. This widespread contact between
Moslems and non-Moslems (mostly Christians) has caused a lot of violence,
mostly the result of Islamic clergy preaching the need to attack infidels
(non-Moslems).
January 9, 2008: Terrorists ambushed an
army patrol 110 kilometers east of the capital, killing five soldiers and
wounding ten.
January 8, 2008: The government will
double the number of special counter-terrorism troops, who are used to hunt
down and capture or kill Islamic terrorists.
January 2, 2008: A suicide truck bomb, using half a ton of
explosives, destroyed a police station east of the capital, killing four police
officers.