Germany Responsible for Algiers Bombing
Rescue workers at the site of one of the bomb blasts in Algiers on Tuesday.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Here is the story in a nutshell: Two car bombs exploded in Algiers today; one at the United Nations offices and the second in front of an Algerian government building. News reports currently say at least 67 people are dead.
That is the What. Here is the Who: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, considered the best-organized and best-financed terrorist group in North Africa. For a complete history of the group read this.
Before I tell you why this attack was possible, here is a little background: Sometime between 22 Feb and 23 Mar of 2003, 32 tourists (16 Germans, 10 Austrians, 4 Swiss, 1 Swede and 1 Dutchman) were abducted in the Algerian Sahara. On 14 May the Algerian army rescued 17 of the group who arrived in Europe aboard special flights from the Algerian capital.
A female German hostage died in the desert but after secret negotiations, the remaining 14 were released in August 2003 after the German government paid the group five million Euros. With this ransom money, Amari Saifi (aka General Abderrezak 'El Para'), the leader of the group began recruiting more fighters, buying weapons and contacting Islamists in Mauritania, Nigeria, Niger, and northern Mali.
Amari Saifi was caught by the United States military in 2004. He is now serving a life sentence in Algeria.
So despite the efforts of the Algerian military and millions of dollars in US weapons and arms, the Islamists are able to continue to buy explosives and fund their activities. Thanks to the German ransom money, the Islamists can wreak havoc in North Africa for decades. When will Europeans learn that you cannot negotiate with terrorists? And certainly never give them ransom monies.
The only silver lining is that the United Nations was attacked. Is there a more useless, futile and dangerous an organization to world peace?
Trivia:
Algeria is one of a number of countries in Africa that is named after its major city; others: Tunisia, Djibouti.
