Free Republic

* Saioud alias Samir was member of group affiliated with Al Qaeda ALGIERS: A leader of an Algerian Islamist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda was killed on Thursday in clashes with the army, a media report said. Samir Saioud alias Samir Moussaab was believed to be the second-ranking leader in the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, recently renamed as Al-Qaeda’s branch in northern Africa. He was killed in fighting in the Si Mustapha region east of Algiers, the APS agency reported, citing an unnamed security source. Saioud’s body was identified by former members of his group, it said. The group...

Algerian army soldiers shot dead the coordinator and second-in-command of Al Qaeda's North African branch on Thursday, official news agency APS reported, quoting security sources. Samir Moussaab, whose real name is Samir Saioud, was killed during a skirmish with an army patrol in the Boumerdes region around 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Algiers, APS said.