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Algerian officials said Aug. 8 that security forces killed nine Islamist militants, including an operational commander, during several days of fighting in northern Algeria. This latest blow to al Qaeda's North African franchise -- al Qaeda Organization for the Countries of the Arab Maghreb -- comes less than a month after the group promised a violent campaign against the region's governments. The al Qaeda node has failed to deliver on that promise and has actually been on the receiving end of most of the violence in the region. Algeria's security forces know how to combat an Islamist insurgency and will continue striking at the militants, but as in many insurgencies, neither side is likely ever to defeat the other completely.
On July 23, al Qaeda Organization for the Countries of the Arab Maghreb posted a communique on the Internet warning that it was planning a series of attacks against "infidels" and government forces in the region. The communique warned Muslims to avoid "gathering points of infidels and apostates," because jihadists would be striking at "their quarters, centers and barracks with all means of detonation, bombing and demolition possible." The statement added that the jihadists in the region had regrouped, organized their ranks and refined their plans and were "planning many surprises for the enemies of God" across the region.
The militants' statement sounds serious, but was probably more for appearances than an actual indication of the group's capabilities. As a militant group gets weaker, it often increases the amount of rhetoric that it puts out. If the group is capable of carrying out attacks, it will do so rather than threaten to do so.
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