Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
Sunni Islamic insurgency in the Maghreb / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An Islamist insurgency is taking place in the Maghreb region of North Africa, followed on from the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002.[47] The Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qaeda to eventually become al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).[48] The Algerian and other Maghreb governments fighting the militants have worked with the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began.[5][49]
This article needs to be updated. (August 2023) |
Islamist insurgency in the Maghreb | |||||||
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Part of the war on terror | |||||||
Map showing GSPC area of operations (pink), member states of the Pan Sahel Initiative (dark blue), and members of the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative (dark and light blue) as of 2011. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Al-Qaeda and allies:
GSPC (until 2007) Islamic State (from 2014) | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Show list
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Amari Saifi (POW) Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (Leader of IS) Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi † Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi † Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi † Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi † Abu Nabil al-Anbari † Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Total armed forces (unless specified): United States: 1,325+ advisors, trainers[24][25] |
AQIM (former GSPC): 1,000[1][26][27]–4,000[28]
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
Major conflict casualties:
Algeria: 5,000+ total killed (2002–11)[42] Libya: 10,071+ killed (2014–18),[43][44][45]20,000+ wounded (as of May 2015)[46] |
While the 2011 Arab Spring affected support for the insurgency, it also presented military opportunities for the jihadists.[19][48][50][51][52] In 2012, AQIM and Islamist allies captured the northern half of Mali. They held the territory for almost a year, until being forced out of the urban areas during a French-led foreign intervention, which was succeeded by the Sahel-wide Operation Barkhane.[1][19] In Libya, the Islamic State was able to control some limited territory during the Second Libyan Civil War, amid allegations of local collaboration with its AQIM rival.[53][19][54]