| [Maghrebia] Facing intense pressure from Algerian citizens, al-Qaeda terrorists on Friday (April 16th) freed an elderly kidnap victim without receiving a ransom payment, El Watan reported. Retired businessman Ali Hassani, 80, was abducted March 22nd near Tizi-Ouzou by al-Qaeda cell "Katibat El Farouk". A week later, thousands of people staged a protest in Aït Koufi to demand his "immediate and unconditional release". Villagers in Boghni also held a general strike on April 15th to protest the abduction. The terrorists had demanded a 30m-dinar ransom for Hassani. |