Algeria

[Ono]

Algeria: New Al-qaeda Cell Seeking Salafite Allies


Algiers, 11 May (AKI) - A statement published on several Islamist internet forums has announced the creation of a new al-Qaeda cell in Algeria. In the document, signed by previously unknown Abu Suheib Maliani, there are references to forming an organised group called al-Qaeda of the Jihad in Algeria. The name takes its lead from Jordanian militant Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who calls his group al-Qaeda of the Jihad in Iraq.

The signatories appear to be seeking to become the officially designated al-Qaeda cell in Algeria and are asking the combatents of the Salafite Islamist formations hiding in the mountains to join a "new project" and not to accept the Algerian government's offer of a pardon.

In the threatening message, the militants outlined their terrorist objectives: "From day one we say that we are not responsible for attacks on innocent people and Algerian civilians. Our targets are Jews, Christians, important figures, embassies and foreign interests - they are the real objective we ask the nation to unite against and to strike wherever they are".

The chief of Algeria's General Amnesty Commission (CNGAG) , Abdel Razzak Ismail, said last month that at least 400 terrorists are prepared to lay down their arms as part of a general pardon for members of militant groups, state-armed militias and the security forces implicated in human rights abuses.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has asked Algerians to back an amnesty to try to end the 13 years of violence involving Islamic militants, in particular the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). As many as 200,000 people are believed to have died in the conflict, which re-erupted after the government annulled elections that hardline Islamists were poised to win in 1992.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.p...165564548&par=0

[Casey]

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Sat Apr 14 2007 03:02:55 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time).
ALGERIA

March 22, 2007

This Travel Warning is being updated to alert Americans to recent terrorist attacks directed against foreigners in Algeria. The threat from terrorism in many areas of the country continues to pose a significant security risk. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on December 20, 2006.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens who travel to Algeria to evaluate carefully the risk posed to their personal safety. Sustained small-scale terrorist attacks including bombings, false roadblocks, kidnappings, ambushes, and assassinations occur regularly. Additionally, a bomb attack targeted a bus transporting foreign workers of a U.S. company in the western part of Algiers in December 2006, and in March 2007, terrorists carried out a bomb attack against a bus transporting Russian and Ukrainian workers near Ain Defla.

The Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens avoid overland travel in the mountainous northern part of the country, and particularly in the area stretching from Algiers east to the Tunisian border.

The U.S. Government considers the potential threat to U.S. Embassy personnel assigned to Algiers sufficiently serious to require them to live and work under strict security restrictions. These practices limit, and may occasionally prevent, the movement of U.S. Embassy officials in certain areas of the country. The Government of Algeria requires U.S. Embassy personnel traveling outside the province of Algiers or to the Casbah within Algiers to seek permission and to have a security escort. Travel to the military zone established around the Hassi Messaoud oil center requires Government of Algeria authorization. U.S. Government personnel are permitted by the Embassy to move freely in many areas in the center of Algiers, but are required to maintain prudent security practices. Travel by personnel to areas of the city outside this zone requires prior coordination with the Embassy’s Regional Security Office. American visitors are encouraged to contact the Embassy’s Consular Section for the most recent safety and security information concerning travel in the city of Algiers.

The Department of State cautions Americans who reside or travel in Algeria to take prudent security measures while in the country, including making provisions for reliable and experienced logistical support. This support should include being met upon arrival and accompanied for the duration of the visit. Visitors should ensure that tour operators and host organizations perform all notifications and coordination with Algerian police and security officials during their stay. Visitors to Algeria are advised to stay only in hotels where adequate security is provided. All visitors to Algeria should remain alert and adhere to prudent security practices such as avoiding predicable travel patterns and maintaining a low profile.

American citizens in or traveling to Algeria also are urged to register and to obtain updated information on travel and security in Algeria at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Algiers or on our travel registration website at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/. The Embassy is located at 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, B.P. 408 (Alger-Gare) 16000, in the capital city of Algiers. The Embassy can be reached at telephone [213] (21) 691-425; [213] (21) 691-186; fax [213] (21) 693-979; or email ConsularAlgiers@state.gov. U.S. citizens who require emergency services may telephone the Embassy at [213] (21) 691-255. Up-to-date information on security conditions as well as general information concerning Algeria and the U.S. Embassy is also available on the Embassy's website http://algiers.usembassy.gov/.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet website at http://travel.state.gov where the Consular Information Sheet for Algeria and the current Worldwide Caution and Middle East and North Africa Public Announcements can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

[Casey]

WARDEN MESSAGE
13 April 2007
Embassy of the United States of America
4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi
16030 Algiers, Algeria
Tel: +213 (0) 21 69 12 55
ConsularAlgiers@state.gov

According to unconfirmed information, there may be attacks in Algiers planned for April
14, 2007 in areas that may include the Algiers Central Post Office (Grande Poste),
located in central Algiers on Rue Emir El Khettabi, and Algerian State Television
Headquarters, ENTV, located on the Blvd des Martyrs, among others. The Embassy will
be open for business as usual on Saturday, April 14, but is restricting the movement of
personnel in the city in response to this information. Algeria remains under a Travel
Warning. http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_929.html.

American citizens in or traveling to Algeria are also urged to register with the
Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Algiers. Americans can register in person at
the Consular Section or online at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/. Up-to-date
information on security conditions as well as general information concerning Algeria and
the U.S. Embassy is also available on the Embassy's website
http://algiers.usembassy.gov/.

The Embassy is located at 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-
Ibrahimi, B.P. 408 (Alger-Gare) 16000, in the capital city of Algiers. The Embassy can
be reached at telephone [213] (21) 691-425; [213] (21) 691-186; or fax [213] (21) 693-
979. U.S. citizens who require emergency services may telephone the Embassy at
[213](21) 691-255.
Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 tollfree
in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada,
a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00
p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

http://algiers.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/ah28agUcU4L59ftQTd5L7g/WardenMessage_13April2007.pdf

[Ono]

Bombings on eve of Algeria election


http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/images/2007/4/11/1_217448_1_5.jpg

Triple suicide bombings in the Algerian capital, Algiers, killed 30 and injured 220 on April 11 [AFP]

One police officer has been killed and five others wounded after two bombs exploded in Algeria on the eve of the country's parliamentary elections.

The blasts in the city of Constantine on Wednesday came 48 hours after the North Africa branch of the al-Qaeda network called upon Algerians to boycott the polls.

Two home-made bombs hidden in plastic bags, one near a cafe and the other at a traffic roundabout, went off in the working-class Daksi district of Algeria's third-biggest city, a police source said.

Error";It was the most serious incident in an Algerian city since triple suicide bombings in the capital Algiers in April, claimed by al-Qaeda, killed 30 people and injured 220.

Call to vote


Security officials said they believed the bombs were meant to have been planted at a nearby market but officers intercepted the bomber, who dropped the bags and escaped.


But an eye witness said that one of the bombs went off in his hands.


Yazid Zaerhouni, Algeria's interior minister, condemned the blasts as "an act of sabotage against the Algerian democratic system".


He also urged Algerians to go to the polls on Thursday in big numbers "to show their attachment to democracy".


"The best way to respond to such attacks is a strong turnout for the parliamentary elections," Zaerhouni said on Algerian public radio.


Heightened security is expected for the upcoming National People's Assembly elections.


Shutdown ordered


Algeria's interior ministry has ordered trucks to stay off the roads and markets to be closed.



In a recording aired this week by Al-Jazeera television, al-Qaeda called on Algerians to snub the polls, which are expected to see political parties aligned with Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president, to retain a majority.


"These elections are nothing but a farce that is not different from other farces seen before in Algeria," said Abu Mussaab Abdul Wadud, leader of al-Qaeda in North Africa.


"If you take part in these elections, you will be sharing those apostates' flagrant act," he said in the audio tape aired on Monday.


"Express your opinion and renounce these elections. You only need to boycott or abstain from voting."


'Deepen democracy'


Politicians are concerned by the lack of enthusiasm for the parliamentary elections among Algeria's 18.3 million registered voters.


"Democracy cannot be created if one turns his back on the ballot box," Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the Algerian prime minister, told AFP.


"Choosing between political parties and programmes is not just a civic act, but a way to deepen democracy."


The National People's Assembly, in which the National Liberation Front (FLN) holds the most seats, is seen by Algerians as a flaky body.


Bouteflika, first elected in 1999, is due to step down at the end of his current second term.



http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E97A0CD9-6872-4279-9AA7-F50C63549D2C.htm

[Casey]

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This information is current as of today, Sat Aug 23 13:43:26 2008.

ALGERIA
August 22, 2008

This Travel Warning updates information on the current security situation in Algeria and warns American citizens against travel to the Kabylie region of the country. The threat from terrorism continues to pose a significant security risk. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on March 26, 2008.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens who travel to Algeria to evaluate carefully the risks posed to their personal safety. Terrorist attacks including bombings, false roadblocks, kidnappings, ambushes, and assassinations occur regularly. Since early 2007, the use of suicide bomb attacks, particularly vehicle-borne attacks, has emerged as a terrorist tactic in Algeria, including in the capital. The group that claimed credit for the December 11, 2007, suicide car-bomb attacks in Algiers has pledged more attacks against foreign targets, and specifically against American targets.

The Department of State warns American citizens against travel to the Kabylie region of Algeria. Since June 2008, the Kabylie region has seen a series of bombing and other terrorist attacks of increasing size and frequency, including a suicide car-bomb attack at a gendarmerie school in Issers on August 19 that killed at least 44 people. While many of the attacks have targeted Algerian security forces, other targets have included a bus transporting the employees of a foreign company, and many of the victims of the attacks have been civilians.

The Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens avoid overland travel in Algeria. Americans who reside or travel in Algeria should take prudent security measures while in the country, including making provisions for reliable and experienced logistical support. Visitors to Algeria are advised to stay only in hotels where adequate security is provided. All visitors to Algeria should remain alert and adhere to prudent security practices such as avoiding predictable travel patterns and maintaining a low profile.

The U.S. Government considers the potential threat to U.S. Embassy personnel assigned to Algiers sufficiently serious to require them to live and work under significant security restrictions. These practices limit, and may occasionally prevent, the movement of U.S. Embassy officials and the provision of consular services in certain areas of the country. The Government of Algeria requires U.S. Embassy personnel to seek permission to travel to the Casbah within Algiers or outside the province of Algiers and to have a security escort. Travel to the military zone established around the Hassi Messaoud oil center requires Government of Algeria authorization. Daily movement of Embassy personnel in Algiers is limited, and prudent security practices are required at all times. Travel by personnel within the city requires prior coordination with the Embassy's Regional Security Office. American visitors are encouraged to contact the Embassy's Consular Section for the most recent safety and security information concerning travel in the city of Algiers.

Americans living or traveling in Algeria are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy in Algiers through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Algeria. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located at 5 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi in the El Biar district of Algiers. The telephone number is [213] 770 08 20 00, which can also be reached after hours. The fax number is [213] 21 98 22 99.

Updated information on travel and security in Algeria may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, or for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. For further information, please consult the Country Specific Information for Algeria and the Worldwide Caution, which are available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at http://travel.state.gov.