| An Algerian Islamic militant group with ties to al Qaeda has reported its leader missing, one month after the North African country's military said he was shot during a gun battle. The army said on June 20 it had killed the chief of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) Nabil Sahraoui, also known as Mustapha Abou Ibrahim, and three top aides during an operation in Bejaia province, east of the capital Algiers. "Mustapha Abou Ibrahim and six other mujahideen are, for us, reported missing. We do not know their fate," the GSPC said in a statement posted on its Web site, dated July 17. "In the event of their deaths being confirmed, that will not harm us." |