Who was Abdelmalek Droukdel, the head of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?

Abdelmalek Droukdel, alias Abou Moussab Abdelwadoud, number one of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi) in an undated photo. AFP PHOTO / AL-ANDALUS

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Abdelmalek Droukdel, the head of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), was killed Thursday during an operation carried out by French forces in northern Mali, announced the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly on Friday evening on Twitter . A strong symbolic blow carried by France, because he was a historic leader of jihad in the Sahel.

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Abdelmalek Droukdel was therefore killed in northern Mali, exactly, in Talhandak, 80 kilometers from Tessalit, along the Algerian border. The operation was launched on Thursday. Abdelmalek Droukdel was allegedly killed by the firing of a drone, but at this time, this point is not confirmed. One shot followed by a helicopter-borne operation with the deployment of ground troops.

The death toll is five, including the emir of al-Qaeda. His death has been confirmed, there is no doubt, assure colonel Frédéric Barbry, spokesman for the armies. There is also a prisoner, one of the terrorists who surrendered without fighting. We do not yet know his identity.

Unifier of terrorist groups in the Sahel

Born in the early 1970s near Algiers, Abdelmalek Droukdel has reigned supreme for just over 15 years over many jihadist groups of Salafist persuasion in North Africa and the Sahel. He is first of all the emir of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which in 2007 became al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda, whose engineer by training is also a member of the steering committee. Afghanistan, he knows for having fought there. Back in Algeria, he is accused of having committed several bloody attacks.

His mentor was the Jordanian terrorist, Abu Moussab Al-Zarqaoui. And in his image, Droukdel was described as a tough guy with a strong personality. From southern Algeria, he knew how to federate the main terrorist groups in the Sahel, including the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which brings together several jihadist movements in the Sahel, led by the Malian Tuareg, Iyad Ag Ghaly , which he himself dubbed in 2017.

A disappearance that could disrupt the Sahelian al-Qaeda sector

And one of his concerns for several months, according to a regional security source, was to reorganize his troops in Mali, to settle the disputes between Aqmi and the Islamic State in the Grand Sahara whose fighters are killing each other. Its disappearance could therefore disrupt the entire Sahelian al-Qaeda sector.

The French army also claims the capture during this operation of an important framework of the Islamic State in the Grand Sahara (EIGS), a terrorist group rival of Aqmi which rages in the area of ​​the three borders. On May 19, soldiers from Operation Barkhane captured Mohamed el Mrabat, again a jihad veteran, responsible for recruitment.

France has therefore just dealt severe blows to the two largest terrorist groups active in the Sahel.

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  • Mali
  • AQIM
  • Terrorism
  • France
  • Defense
  • Sahel

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