March 9, 2007:
Terrorist violence was
down slightly in February, with 18 dead and 15 wounded, compared to 21 dead and
three wounded in January. The few remaining Islamic terrorists in northeastern
Algeria, appear determined to go down fighting and killing. Since the GSPC
announced its merger with al Qaeda last year, there has been an increase in
bombings, and a decrease in the traditional massacre of civilians with knives
and guns. Apparently, al Qaeda convinced the GSPC terrorists that they would
anger fewer Algerians if they blew people up, rather than slitting their
throats. A decade ago, the GSPC was killing up to a hundred people a day, but
now, it takes up to six months to cause that much mayhem.
March 4, 2007: East of the capital, Islamic terrorists ambushed a police
patrol, killing five police and destroying three vehicles. March 3, 2007: Islamic terrorists ambushed some foreign oil
workers, and killed a Russian engineer. March 1, 2007: Islamic terrorists made
ten attacks on security personnel east of the capital, but only two people were
wounded, and the terrorists were driven away. Another clash with Islamic
terrorists, 200 kilometers south of the capital, left three policemen dead.