'decamping', the word I used, probably wasn't the right word. I think AQIM are busy - more busy - in both Alg and Libya. Its hard to know for sure about Libya as yet because of the chaos there. But time will tell. Why would AQIM not take advantage of the turmoil in Libya at the moment? Eveything I've read about AQIM suggests they are very adaptable and do react to the sort of opportunity that Libya presents.

At the same time Aqim are on the attack they are exposing themselves, and about a dozen have been killed over last week, plus a few more captured
Boumerdès : Les maquis de Chouicha toujours encerclés, 13 terroristes neutralisés - Actualité - El Watan
They attacked an airport (Jijel) with RPG - why not with SAM if they have them?
It is reported that Iran is buying up the missiles, there is perhaps a better market elsewhere.
Today I had contact with a facebook friend from Sebha again for the first time since April. He sounded very optimistic.
It looks to me like Aqim in the Sahel is almost a separate entity from the guys in the north.

So the Mauris attacked Wagadou forest with three aircraft, destroying two vehicles. Even Aqim acknowledged one of their top guys was killed, but called it a car accident.
Mauritanian army strikes al-Qaeda base in Mali (Magharebia.com)
No Libyan SAM missiles were used by Aqim, and haven't been used anywhere yet AFAIK.

Then afterwards the area was swept by a thousand Malian troops. So it is over now?
"According to military affairs expert Sidi Mouloud, there are about 300 AQIM fighters around the Wagadou forest and they have at least 48 vehicles and two lorries. The terrorists also possess a number of arms caches, the analyst added.
"The threat to Mauritania from AQIM is a real one," Sidi Moulou said. "For a number of days, the Mauritanian security forces have been on the hunt for three fighters who slipped in across the eastern border, including one suicide bomber.""

There was a non-specific security alert for travellers in Mauretania a few days ago, could be about this suicide bomber.

Report from Mauretania, the no-go zone for civilians 800 x 200 kms along the border. Void of people including traffickers and even herders, it explains why western Maurtania is comparatively safe at the moment.
Fighting AQIM with their own weapons - small units witout a base, using armed Toyota 4x4s.
Mauritania: fighting the invisible enemy - FRANCE 24
16 minute video, images from Wagadou and elsewhere

I have often wondered why, nearly a decade on from the first kidnappings in 2003, the Mali government has done so little to confront AQIM given that AQIM has bedded down in N.Mali and causes strife for neighbouring countries. Initially I put it down to a lack of resources on the part of the Malian military but when Mauri started taking the initiative in Mali, it was clear there was also a lack of will. More recently some evidence has emerged that there is much more to the issue. Some of the details are reproduced below:


Malian threatened over al-Qaeda talk: News24: Africa: News

A Malian lawmaker who has been outspoken about his country's alleged role in providing refuge to an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terror network says he was stopped in traffic on Sunday in the capital by armed men who warned him to stop talking about the matter.

Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh, a member of parliament from the Bourem region in the north of Mali, where al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or Aqim, is known to operate, says he was stopped at about 11:00 in Bamako by four men in a black Mercedes.

"They presented themselves as agents of the Malian intelligence service. I could see they had automatic pistols concealed under their clothes," Assaleh told The Associated Press by telephone just hours after the incident.

"The men told me I should stop speaking about the links between the Malian state and the drugs trade, and the Malian state and Aqim," Assaleh said.