Posted on 07/04/2004 10:21:34 PM PDT by neverdem
PARIS, July 4 — Libyan forces have discovered a terrorist camp with ties to Al Qaeda in the country's southern desert, a French newspaper reported Sunday. The report did not say whether the camp was active or abandoned when it was found 10 days ago.
The newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, quoted European antiterrorism officials as saying that the camp, thought to be used by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, was near the border with Chad not far from the region where Chadian rebels are holding one of the terrorist group's most senior members, Amari Saifi, known as Al Para.
The rebel group has been negotiating for weeks about handing Mr. Saifi over to Algeria, where he is wanted in connection with terrorist strikes. Last month, Algerian forces gathered in the desert of Niger in hopes of a transfer but withdrew when negotiations with the Chadian rebels bogged down and the Algerian forces' supplies ran short. Under the latest plan, Libya would play a role.
The Salafist Group, known by its French initials, G.S.P.C., is North Africa's largest, best-organized and wealthiest terrorist organization. Its goal is to establish an Islamic state in Algeria.
Last year, Mr. Saifi received nearly $6 million in ransom from Germany for the release of kidnapped European tourists, money that he reportedly used to buy weapons and recruit fresh fighters in the desert stretching from Mauritania to Chad.
Fearing that the G.S.P.C. and other Islamic terrorist groups could turn the Sahara into a base as they once did Afghanistan, the United States has supported a regional effort to combat the group. American marines are training Chadian forces in antiterrorism techniques.
As a result of that American-led effort, Mr. Saifi was attacked in northern Chad this year. He escaped only to be captured by Chadian rebels who control a patch of territory close to the Libyan border.
Earlier this month, Algeria killed the G.S.P.C. leader, Nabil Sahraoui, in an ambush, leaving Mr. Saifi as the most senior surviving member.
Last week, the G.S.P.C. claimed responsibility for a blast that wounded 11 people at a major electricity plant in Algiers. The government has said it is too early to say what caused the explosion.
To think! There they were, operating in our own back yard all that time!
And they just now discovered them?
Sheesh, thanks Germany. Paying ransom to rebels and terrorists only results in more people killed and kidnapped.
Why doesn't my church have a group for "Preaching and Combat"? I mean, those two activities go together sooooo well, don't they??
Hola!!!!!!!!!
Sacre bleu!
Someone wrote a song about that years ago. It's called "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition." ;-)
The German government spent several months working up a deal to get the hostages of theirs released. The cash, strangely enough, was apparently NOT private money...but came straight from the giant tax revenue bucket (tax payers never said a word about this...but they really didn't grasp that it was public money, and not from the families). All the Germans involved were either tourists or on busienss in the region.
I would suspect that Libyans knew about the entire deal and helped make it happen. And the $6 million...probably disappeared down some Libyan official's private weapon sales enterprise.
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