Algerian Security Forces Seize Militant Weaponry
Algerian security forces uncovered a large weapons cache from Islamist militants on November 6. The weapons seizure recovered 17 anti-aircraft missiles, one rocket launcher, and 28 grenades, among other small ammunitions and weaponry. The equipment was found in a stockpile in the southern desert province of Adrar. This latest find adds to a series of efforts by Algerian security forces to crack down on domestic terrorism. In October, the military killed two jihadists, including Saddek Habbach, the leader of Jund al-Khilafa, an eastern Algerian terrorist group that declared allegiance to ISIS in 2014. This same group was responsible for the kidnapping and execution of a French tourist in December 2015.
Aside from retrieving weapons and eliminating leadership targets, Algeria has also increased efforts to prevent attacks. In July, Algerian security services foiled a plot by a terrorist cell linked to ISIS to attack a popular shopping mall in the eastern city of Setif. Following up in August, security forces proceeded to clear out a militant stronghold in the mountains east of Algeria’s capital, Algiers. Overall, security forces killed 157 armed Islamists in 2015, and proceeded to kill 99 and arrest 50 in the first half of 2016, according to Reuters.
Algeria is also taking steps to improve regional stability and terrorist monitoring. In October, Algeria’s secretary general of Foreign Affairs, Hassane Rabehi, called for a “global agreement” to enhance counterterrorism efforts at a conference for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The government followed up on this commitment with an announcement from its Ministry of Justice to enhance technical surveillance on Algeria’s shared border with Morocco with the implementation of advanced equipment, including infrared cameras, mobile radars, and satellite monitoring.
Despite aggressive security reinforcement, however, Algeria still faces long-term stability challenges. Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin named Algeria in his list of the world’s ten most unstable countries. Rubin argues that decades of military rule and poor statist economic policy have failed to bring stability after the country’s devastating civil war in the 1990s. He also claims that southern Algeria remains a haven for terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Indeed, even with stability gains over the past couple of years, the U.S. State Department has continued to place a travel warning against the south and eastern areas of the country, citing a “high threat of terrorism and kidnappings.”
Some commentators, though, point to the growth of Algerian security efforts as a sign that the country might evolve into a strong pillar of regional counterterrorism. Former New York Times contributor Marvine Howe sees Algeria as a potential leading mediator in the war on terrorism. He argues that Algeria has valuable experience for the international community, having developed a counterterrorism model over 15 years of jihadist activity. Algeria’s increasing diplomatic efforts, such as Rabehi’s recent proposal at the OIC conference, may corroborate this viewpoint.
Over the past couple of years, Algeria has also provided direct security assistance to regional partners. North Africa research analyst Kal Ben Khalid notes that Algeria has cooperated with Tunisia on targeting AQIM-linked militants and provided training to Tunisian troops. Ben Khalid attributes this military and intelligence cooperation to the regional impacts of Libya’s state collapse and Tunisia’s own intensified security problems. This bilateral cooperation may act as a stepping stone for advancing Algeria’s security role in North Africa.
It is still too early to draw any conclusions on how reliable Algerian counterterrorism efforts will remain going forward. Algeria will likely face further challenges from the poor health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria’s leader since 1999. His death or resignation may lead to a power struggle among Algeria’s military factions and disenfranchised groups, including militant Islamist forces like AQIM. How Algeria manages to weather this political transition will be crucial in determining not only its domestic stability, but also the role of the country as a partner in the war on terror.