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Last Updated: Jun 28, 2009 - 7:55:41 AM |
Assassins believed to be with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
burst into the Timbuktu residence of a Malian intelligence officer on
the evening of June 10, blowing half his head away with point-blank
gunfire before making their escape. The veteran Arab officer had just
made a number of high-profile arrests of AQIM members as part of an
ongoing campaign against al-Qaeda elements in northern Mali (Le
Challenger [Bamako], June 11; Nouvelle Libération, [Bamako], June 16).
Troops pursued the assassins of the well-known officer into the
Tadoudeni area of Northern Mali (an important region for salt mines),
with the Salafists laying landmines behind them as they withdrew to the
north (Info-Matin [Bamako], June 17).
Lieutenant Colonel Lamana Ould Bou was with Mali's military
intelligence and led operations against AQIM in northern Mali. He was a
former member of the Front Islamique Arabe de l'Azawad (Arab Islamic
Front of Azawad - FIAA), a rebel movement based around northern Mali's
Arab minority. He became a member of the Malian security forces after a
peace accord was signed in 1991. His valuable contribution to
anti-terrorist operations was described by a fellow officer: "As a
native of Timbuktu Region, he had very profound knowledge of the area
and knew where to find the enemy. So, of late, he had been of great
assistance in tracking and arresting a score of Islamists and
terrorists" (L'Independent [Bamako], June 16).
After a funeral attended by thousands, the army took revenge in a June
16 attack on an AQIM base in the Tessalit Oasis, killing anywhere from
16 to 26 fighters, though some sources suggest these numbers may be
inflated (Le Républicain, June 18; al-Hayat, June 18). According to
Malian military sources, the Salafist camp was under the command of Abd
al-Hamid Abu Za'id. Three Bérabich Arab militiamen and two Malian
regulars were killed when their military vehicle struck an AQIM
landmine during the pursuit (Nouvelle Libération [Bamako], June 17).
Arab and Tuareg militias have been increasingly employed by the Malian
government for desert operations in remote northern Mali. Algerian
security sources said the raid was part of an attempt to encircle AQIM
forces near the Algerian border and liberate a Swiss hostage (al-Hayat,
June 18).
According to reports from the Malian capital of Bamako, President
Amadou Toumani Touré has been reluctant to enter into a full-scale
campaign in the vast lands and harsh conditions of northern Mali,
preferring a path of negotiations. Since security operations were
scaled back after the defeat of Ibrahim Ag Bahanga's Tuareg rebels in
February, trafficking in arms and other contraband has increased in the
north as the tribes begin to rearm for what they regard as an
inevitable resumption of hostilities in the region (Le Matin [Bamako],
June 17; Info-Matin, June 17; for Ag Bahanga, see Terrorism Focus,
February 26). The government in Bamako is dominated by the southern
Bambara tribe, part of the larger West African Mande group.
Algeria has been providing the Malian military with arms, fuel and
ammunition to combat the Salafist militants in northern Mali (Le
Républicain [Bamako], June 18). There are approximately 300 U.S.
Special Forces trainers and advisers in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu, as
well as a smaller number of British troops. There are reports of
American and British officials following closely behind the Malian
offensive, questioning local tribes about the location and strength of
AQIM forces in the region (al-Hayat, June 18). AQIM executed British
hostage Edwin Dyer in Malian territory on May 31 after its demand for
the release of al-Qaeda ideologist Abu Qatada was refused by the U.K.
government.
Source:Ocnus.net 2009
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