ALGIERS, 31 jan (AFP)
The islamists armed with the salafist Group for preaching and combat (GSPC) "were neutralized" these last days by the Algerian army at the border algéro-Malian in the south of In Salah (1.300 km in the south of Algiers), indicated Saturday Algerian agency APS. "a terrorist group", of which the number of elements was not specified, was intercepted whereas "they tried infilterate by the border algéro-Malian with 4 Toyota vehicles", the APS specified, quoting the staff of the army. Operations continue "for the neutralization of the last elements of the terrorist group" in this sector of the Algerian Sahara, added the staff which did not state that it understood by "neutralizing". The army also seized at the time of this operation a "batch of armaments bought to traffickers of weapons of countries bordering sub-Saharan with the money on the ransom paid by a Western country concerned with the release of its hostages in Mali last August", added the staff, quoted by the APS. In this batch appear of the mortars, of the machine-guns, the rocket launchers, nearly 200 kalachnikovs, of the rifles with telescopic sight, the automatic guns with "an important batch of ammunition", according to staff's. "equipment of connection" and ten satellite telephones were also seized. The Algerian governmental daily newspaper In-nasr had stated Tuesday that at least four armed islamists had been killed Monday by the Algerian army in the south of Tamanrasset (1.900 km in the south of Algiers) in the border area with Mali. These islamists would be "probably" men of Abderrazak "the para", number 2 of the GSPC, which had taken as an hostage lasting more than five months 32 European tourists in the Algerian Sahara and Malian in 2003, according to this newspaper. Seventeen hostages (10 Austrians, 6 Germans and Switzerland) had been released on May 13 at the time of an operation of the army in Algeria in the north of Tamanrasset. The 14 others (9 Germans, 4 Swiss and a Netherlander) had been to it on August 18 in Mali in the area of Kidal, after an hostage German had died fine Juin of the continuations of an insolation. It is the first time that is marked as clearly as "un Western country", in fact Germany, poured a ransom to obtain the release of its nationals. This ransom, whose Berlin never admitted the payment, would have reached five million euros, according to the German press. The Algerian army deployed, since last summer, in the area of Tamanrasset an important device to prevent the increase in the north of Algeria of the group directed by Abderrazak "the para".

__________________
Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail