The Algerian Ministry of National Defense has reported that army units have arrested 21 individuals suspected of supporting terrorist groups in various operations across the country during the first week of the current month.
In a press statement today, Wednesday, the ministry revealed the destruction of 7 hideouts belonging to terrorist groups in the Batna province in eastern Algeria, and the seizure of nine homemade bombs in the Boumerdes province north of the Algerian capital.
It was also noted that a terrorist, carrying an automatic pistol and a quantity of ammunition, was neutralized in an operation in the Boudj Baji Mokhtar area in southern Algeria.
Algeria has been combating terrorism for decades, with significant efforts intensified in the 1990s during the country’s bloody civil war. The conflict, primarily between the government and various Islamist rebel groups, led to widespread violence and the death of thousands.
The conflict began in late 1991 after the military canceled the parliamentary elections that the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win, leading to a violent insurgency led by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and later the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which had ties to al-Qaeda.
In the 2000s, the Algerian government launched aggressive counterterrorism efforts, leading to a significant reduction in terrorist activities. The GSPC, later known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), continued to pose threats but with diminished capacity compared to its peak during the 1990s. Algeria’s counterterrorism strategies have evolved to include not only military operations but also counter-extremism efforts focusing on preventing the spread of extremist ideologies.
In recent years, while the intensity of terrorist activities has diminished, the Algerian military continues to conduct operations against remaining insurgent groups, primarily in rural and mountainous areas.
These groups, though fragmented, still pose a security threat and are linked to broader North African terrorist networks.
The Algerian government’s consistent pressure through military operations aims to prevent any resurgence of large-scale terrorism within its borders.
