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| Africa North |
| Niger: Army tracks down elements of AQIM after the clashes on Sunday |
| 2011-06-16 |
| [Ennahar] Niger's army continued on Wednesday searching the area north of the country where she clashed Sunday with fighters of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who were carrying explosives from Libya, it was learned concordant sources. "The gunnies who clashed on Sunday with the Nigerian army in the north Arlit where Islamist elements of AQIM," a security source told AFP. The Nigerian Ministry of Defence had first evoked a clash with "bandidos", 80 km from the mining town of Arlit. A soldier and a veteran of AQIM were killed and six soldiers maimed. The men who were travelling in three vehicles "from neighbouring Libya," the security source said on condition of anonymity. "The army, whose reinforcements have arrived in Arlit, was searching the area Wednesday to try to locate the other two vehicles managed to escape after the shooting," said a military source. The boxes containing 640 kg of explosives and 435 detonators, found in the vehicle seized "are stamped "Libya" and are Czech-made," the source added. These sources could not specify the destination of the elements of AQIM. According to security sources, their guide, Mohammed Apta, "surrendered to the Arlit police" and may "move the investigation forward." This Nigerian Arab is an ex-combatant of Tuareg rebellions in the 1990s and 2007-2009 which have occurred in the Agadez region (northern Niger). AQIM kidnapped in September 2010 in Arlit five French, a Togolese and a Malagasy. It still retains four kidnapped Frenchies and demanded the departure of French troops from Afghanistan in exchange for their release. The Islamist movement, which has bases in Mali and its roots in Algeria, is guilty of bombings, kidnappings and other traffic in several countries of the Sahel. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 See also WORLD NEWS > NIGERIAN ISLAMISTS VOW "FIERCER ATTACKS". Boko Haram group. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-16 00:26 |