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Islamic State – Algeria Province

The Islamic State – Algeria Province (IS-AP; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية – ولاية الجزائر, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah – Wilayah al-Jazā’ir)[7] is a branch of the militant Islamist group Islamic State (IS), active in Algeria. The group was formerly known as Jund al-Khilafah fi Ard al-Jazair (Arabic: جند الخلافة في أرض الجزائر, meaning Soldiers of the Caliphate in the land of Algeria or Caliphate Soldiers of Algeria).[8]

After kidnapping a 55-year-old French mountaineering guide, Hervé Gourdel, the group stated in a video on 22 September 2014, that the kidnapping was a fulfilling of an order of IS spokesman al-'Adnani to attack citizens of countries fighting with the U.S. against IS.[9] On 24 September 2014, Wilayah al-Jazair claimed to have beheaded Hervé Gourdel.[9][10][11]

It is classified as a terror group by the UK,[12] as well as by the US under the name Jund al-Khilafah (JAK-A).[13] Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have also designated it as a terrorist group.[14][15]

History

Under Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Wilayah al-Jazair was previously a faction of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Al Qaeda affiliate in North and West Africa.[16] AQIM grew out of Algerian Islamist groups that had fought in the 1990s Civil War.[16] Abdelmalek Gouri (who would later lead Jund al-Khilafah) was formerly the "right-hand man" of Abdelmalek Droukdel, who was the leader of AQIM. Gouri was also part of an AQIM cell responsible for suicide attacks on the government's headquarters and the UN compound in Algiers in 2007. He was also behind an attack in Iboudrarene in April 2014 that left 11 Algerian soldiers dead.[16]

As Jund al-Khilafah

On 14 September 2014, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the central region, Khaled Abu Suleiman (nom de guerre of Abdelmalek Gouri), announced in a communique he was breaking allegiance with Al-Qaeda and took an oath of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was reportedly joined by an AQIM commander of an eastern region of Algeria. He claimed that other members of AQIM had "deviated from the right path" and declared to al-Baghdadi "You have in the Islamic Maghreb men who will obey your orders."[17]

As Wilayah al-Jazair

On 13 November 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced that the group had changed its name to "Wilayah al-Jazair" in accordance to the structure of the rest of groups aligned with IS.[7][18] In December 2014, Gourdel's killer was killed by Algerian security forces.[2] In May 2015, over 20 members of the group, including commanders, were killed in a military raid.[19][20] The group was devastated by the raids, and turned its focus to propaganda while attempting to rebuild. Although it advertised the pledges of allegiance of several AQIM splinter factions during 2015, none of the groups involved are believed to be large, and the group did not claim responsibility for any attacks in the year following the kidnapping and killing of Gourdel.[20]

Timeline

References

  1. ^ a b "Algeria's al-Qaeda defectors join IS group". Al Jazeera English. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b Deaton, Jennifer Z.; Hanna, Jason (23 December 2014). "Algeria: Leader of group that beheaded French hiker is killed". CNN. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ^ Zelin, Aaron Y. (14 November 2014). "ISIS Has Declared The Creation Of Provinces In Several Arab Countries". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. businessinsider.com. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ^ Zelin, Aaron Y. (14 November 2014). "The Islamic State's Archipelago of Provinces". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Algeria". Wilson Center. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  6. ^ "Algerian Army Kills Militant Leader Linked to Beheading of French Hostage". The New York Times. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2015. According to several sources, it included fewer than 30 fighters and never had enough time to structure itself as a viable force on the field
  7. ^ a b Zelin, Aaron Y. (28 January 2015). "The Islamic State's model". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Hollande blasts 'cowardly' murder of French hostage in Algeria". France24. 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria Beheads French Hostage in Video". SITE Intelligence Group. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Algerian extremists behead French hostage". Associated Press. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  11. ^ "IS-linked terror group Jund al-Khilafah behead French hostage Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped in Algeria on Sunday". News Corp Australia. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Individuals and Entities Designated by the State Department Under E.O. 13224". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  14. ^ "The list of prohibited foreign organizations in Kazakhstan | Electronic government of the Republic of Kazakhstan".
  15. ^ "List of terrorist and extremist organizations banned in Kyrgyzstan". 5 April 2017.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Algerian army 'kills top jihadist'". BBC News. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  17. ^ Chikhi, Lamine (14 September 2014). "Splinter group breaks from al Qaeda in North Africa". Reuters. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  18. ^ Beirut bureau; Hashem, Mostafa (13 November 2014). MacSwan, Angus; Storey, David; McCool, Grant (eds.). "Islamic State leader urges attacks in Saudi Arabia: speech". Reuters. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Retrieved 3 July 2019. We announce to you the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries, to the countries of the Haramayn, Yemen, Egypt, Libya [and] Algeria
  19. ^ a b "Algerian forces kill '21 ISIL-linked fighters'". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera Media Network. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  20. ^ a b Barr, Nathaniel (13 November 2015). "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Deception: The Islamic State's Expansion Efforts in Algeria". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  21. ^ "14 Algerian soldiers killed in ambush attack". News24. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  22. ^ "Gunmen kill 11 Algerian soldiers in ambush". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  23. ^ "Algerian militants behead kidnapped French tourist". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  24. ^ "Algerian army kills suspect in beheading of Frenchman Hervé Gourdel". France 24. 26 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  25. ^ "Algeria kills suspect in French beheading". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  26. ^ Chikhi, Lamine (28 April 2015). Evans, Dominic (ed.). "Algerian army kills five militants: ministry". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  27. ^ Weiss, Caleb (21 February 2016). "Islamic State claims killing Algerian soldiers". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  28. ^ "Hervé Gourdel: Man sentenced over French tourist's killing". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  29. ^ "Algeria trial opens over kidnapping and murder of French tourist". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  30. ^ "Algerian man sentenced to death for murder of Hervé Gourdel". Africa News. Retrieved 2023-08-04.