Counterterrorism Blog

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: close-up on Spain and Sahel

By Olivier Guitta

From The Croissant comes this story:

Terrorist M’Barek Al Jaafari:
1- February 5: arrested in Tarragon, north east of Spain
2- March 30: the Spanish government allowed his extradition to Morocco

Accusations of the Spanish government against M’barek Al Jaafari:
1- being a member of GSPC (Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat ; now called Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM])
2- recruiting alleged terrorists:
a) to send them to Iraq for suicide bombings
b) to plan terror attacks against Morocco

AQIM / GSPC:

Spain:
1- Seems to be Europe’s “soft belly”
2- That’s why GSPC is clearly expanding quickly there

Sahel:
1- Is AQIM’s solid base close to Europe
2- That includes Mali:
a) especially in the Northern part of the country where Islamist radicalism is growing fast among local population in villages such as Kidal or Timbuktu

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