A New Top Commander for the GSPC in Algeria
The Al-Qaida-linked faction in Algeria known as the Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC) has appointed a new amir, or commander, in the wake of the deaths of past commanders Hassan Hattab (a.k.a. Abu Hamza) and Nabil Sahraoui (a.k.a. Abu Ibrahim Mustafa). According to a statement from the group, the new commander has been named as Abu Musab Abd al-Wadoud.

New Video from the GSPC in Algeria
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC) has released a new video recording, including footage of explosives preparation, a speech by Usama Bin Laden, and extreme anti-U.S. propaganda. The video seems to confirm the developing role that the GSPC playing as a principle regional hub for Al-Qaida in North Africa. The GSPC began in 1998 as a splinter faction of the defunct Armed Islamic Group (GIA).

- Dec. 25 ambush on an Algerian military convoy
- Jan. 3 ambush on an Algerian military convoy
- Jan. 8 appeal for financial assistance from the GSPC
- Jan. 8 GSPC advice to Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia

Interview with Algerian GSPC Commander
The online magazine Al-Faath has published a two-part interview with the chairman of the Media Wing of the Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa. According to Abu Omar Abdul Bir, the GSPC was founded to continue the role of the GIA after the GIA leadership became "deviant" in the mid-1990s. Abu Omar scoffed at rumors that the Algerian government is close to wiping out the GIA, and congratulated "our mujahideen brothers in Iraq, [Saudi Arabia], Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, the Philippines, Kashmir, and elsewhere... they are a part of us. We are hurt if they are hurt; what makes them happy will also make us happy."

GSPC Renounces Former Leader Hassan Hattab
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a regional Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa--has disavowed their former top commander Hassan Hattab (a.k.a. Abu Hamza) after he surrendered to the Algerian government in exchange for limited amnesty. According to a recent statement released by the group, Hattab has been estranged from the GSPC since at least 2003 and his recent actions are considered "a betrayal of Allah, his messenger, the path of jihad, and the blood of the martyrs... we will continue our jihad. It will be either victory or martyrdom.”

GSPC Commander Hails Al-Qaida in New Video
In a new video released by the Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa--GSPC commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud has sworn that Allah will "destroy America" and further sent greetings to "the leaders of jihad, who are the true leaders after their own leaders became apostates. They are the source of light in our dark exile and the hope for the wounded nation of Islam. To the fighting Shaykh Abu Abdullah Usama Bin Laden, Mullah Mohammed Omar, Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the beloved hero and the leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to the patient brothers and brave lions in Chechnya – Abu Hafs [al-Urdani] and [Abu Omar] al-Saif, to the brave fighters in Palestine and to the mujahideen everywhere – may Allah protect you all."

GSPC Details Recent Mauritania Terror Attack
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a North African militant faction affiliated with Al-Qaida--has released the third edition of its official magazine, including further details about last month's cross-border terror attack on an army post manned by soldiers from Mauritania. According to a statement published in the magazine, the attack involved at least one Algerian extremist who had previously fought in Afghanistan with Al-Qaida and was carried out in order to "erase a number of myths, beginning with the myth of ‘reconciliation and general amnesty’ and ending with the myth of ‘desperate remnants’ or a ‘small group that is about to be eliminated.’"

GSPC Leader Reflects on Murder of Diplomats
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa--has released a new statement from its top commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud concerning the execution of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq by Al-Qaida fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In his communiqué, the GSPC leader explained, "the American-Algerian relationship is extremely coordinated and strong... The only difference between the oppressors Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Abdelaziz Bouteflika is that the former was transported into Iraq by American tanks whereas the latter was the one who transported American tanks into Algeria... Anyone who chooses the path of treason and oppression should know that his blood will become less valuable than the blood of dogs in the eyes of the mujahideen."

New Terror Threats from the GSPC in Algeria
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa and Europe--has issued a flurry of new statements--calling for, among other things, the assassination of Algerian "collaborators" in France and joint attacks on local U.S. military forces by mujahideen from both Algeria and neighboring Morocco. In its latest communiqué, the GSPC specifically called upon its Moroccan brethren "to take revenge for your mujahideen and impotent brothers… these days, America is depositing its Marines in the grand desert and this is your chance to seek revenge for the events of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Al-Aqsa [Jerusalem], and Al-Haramain [Saudi Arabia]."

- Aug. 15 message addressed to "our brothers in France"
- Aug. 15 message addressed to Algerian Muslim youths
- Sept. 5 message to the "Monotheists of Islamic Morocco"

GSPC Rejects Amnesty Referendum in Algeria
In a new communique dated Sept. 27, the top commander of the Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC) Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud has addressed an Algerian government amnesty proposal for Islamic militants willing to lay down their arms.  Wadoud scoffed at the amnesty proposal, suggesting its only possible meaning was that "after the prolonged ordeal of fighting the soldiers of Allah, the enemies of Allah have realized that this group cannot be eliminated and will never be defeated."  Wadoud explained further that--given current world events--there can be no peace in Algeria until "evil America" is defeated.  The GSPC commander also dispatched his greetings to, among others, senior Al-Qaida commanders Usama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Interview with Top GSPC Commander in Algeria
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida-affiliate group active in North Africa--has released a recent interview with the GSPC's top commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud.  During the interview, Wadoud declared, "we congratulate all the beloved courageous brothers from Al-Qaida’s Committee in Mesopotamia along with their commander Abu Musab al-Zarqawi…  May Allah protect the prodigal mujahideen in Iraq and around the world—especially our commander Abu Abdallah Usama Bin Laden.”  Separately, the GSPC has also announced the death of "Abu Ubaidah", a veteran Algerian mujahideen commander who died of natural causes at age 70.

- Interview with GSPC leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud
- GSPC biography of former commander "Abu Ubaidah"

New Statements from the GSPC in Algeria
The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida-affiliate group active in North Africa--has released two new communiqués on the subject of Muslim prisoners recently released by the Algerian government under an amnesty deal and, separately, the republication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed in various European newspapers and magazines.  According to the GSPC, "If, in the name of freedom of speech and expression, democracy permits its followers to attack Muslim practices, defame their religion, and disgrace their prophet by means of drawings and writings, then Islam requires Muslims to retaliate against this aggression."

- 3/9/06 - GSPC issues call to freed prisoners in Algeria
- 3/22/06 - GSPC issues response to cartoons of Mohammed

GSPC Claims "Battle of Shaykh Abul Baraa Ahmad"
Yesterday, the Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--now known as "Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb"--claimed responsibility for a series of six car bomb attacks targeting "apostate police stations" in Tizi Ouazu and Boumerdas, "destroying 5 fortresses for the apostates, in addition to killing and wounding more than 140 of them." The statement detailed the various attacks and targets, and boasted, "their casualties are eyewitnesses to the cruel blows dealt by the soldiers of Islam. We inform the thieves and the French who follow the Christians and the Jews that the young Muslim men of the Maghreb are determined to liberate their homeland from every crusader, apostate, and co-conspirator."   

- Click to view English translation of statement

- Video: "The Battle of Bouchaoui": Attack on bus carrying U.S. contractors (Dec. 10, 2006)
- Video: "Five bombings [targeting] Algerian apostates" (Feb. 14, 2007)

See also:
- [CTBLOG]: - "GSPC in Algeria Announces New Name: Al-Qaida in the Maghreb"
- [CTBLOG]: "GSPC Claims Credit for Terror Attack on Western Contractors in Algeria"

Al-Qaida Escalates Campaign of Violence in Algeria
Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb--formerly known as the GSPC--has continued to escalate its latest campaign of violence in Algeria.  In the past two weeks, the group has released an unprecedented flood of communiqués claiming responsibility for a flurry of bombing attacks and armed ambushes on soldiers, policemen, and foreign workers from Russia and Canada.   The group also released a new statement from its top commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud urging members of the Algerian security forces to abandon their posts and "repent", or else be targeted for death by the mujahideen.  The latest messages from Al-Qaida in the Maghreb noticeably mimick statements issued by the now-defunct Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) during the height of its military activity in 1995.

- Al-Qaida Claims 18 Simultaneous and Expansive Attacks on the Infidels (3/1)
- Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud Issues Call for Repentance from Security Forces (3/4)
- Al-Qaida Claims Bomb Attack on Russians and Raids on the Infidels (3/5)

New Video Releases from Al-Qaida in Algeria
On May 9 and 10, Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)--formerly known as the Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat--issued two significant new video releases, including a recorded speech from AQIM leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud and footage of its April 11 suicide bombing attacks in the capital Algiers.  In his message, Wadoud explained, "we have decided from now on to execute suicide attacks as our strategic weapon in our confrontation with the enemies. Therefore, in order to carry out this decision, we have sent our orders to the various leaders across different regions, the commanders of our soldiers and the leaders of the brigades and fighting units, to open the door for those who wish to volunteer to become martyrs. Also, we are trying to motivate Muslims and encourage them to the sacrifice themselves in the cause of Allah. We have also asked them to supply any necessary supplies required by the martyrs, and also to help us in choosing precise targets which will help us to achieve our jihadi goals."  Separately, a new report is now available for download from the NEFA Foundation titled "Two Decades of Jihad in Algeria: the GIA, the GSPC, and Al-Qaida."

- English Transcript: Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud - "Where are Those Who Are Committed to Die?"
- Video: Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb - "The Battle of Badr in Algeria"
- NEFA Report: "Two Decades of Jihad in Algeria: the GIA, the GSPC, and Al-Qaida"