Algeria: Hard Times for Hardliners

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June 15, 2007: The Islamic terrorists in North Africa have fallen on hard times, with their efforts ranked below street crime and unemployment when pollsters query people about what they fear most. Attempts to set off enough bombs, to scare lots of people, have failed so far this year. Terrorist recruiters are forced to go after 12 year old kids, because so few older men want to get involved. So far this month, police have foiled seven terrorist bombing efforts. A dozen security personnel have been killed in the last two weeks, but three times as many terrorists have been killed or captured.

June 11, 2007: Outside the capital, civilians have had it with Islamic terrorists still operating in the area, and are quick to tip off the cops when the Islamic radicals come by to extort food or money. This has led to more police searches of the countryside, and the sounds of gunfire, especially at night. East of the capital, police found and dismantled a bomb found in a bus. Apparently the bomb was being transported, but the guy carrying it panicked and abandoned it on the bus.

June 10, 2007: East of the capital, police raided a training camp that Islamic radicals had set up for teenage recruits. The kids were also serving as lookouts and spies for terrorist operations. Thirteen teenagers were arrested, and searches of their homes, as well as the camp, revealed lots of pro-terrorist material. In the same area, a roadside bomb killed three soldiers and wounded several others.

June 9, 2007: Spain, France and Italy have arrested dozens of North African Islamic terrorists in the last few months, and have linked some of them to recent terror attacks in North Africa. Although it is safer to live in Europe, it isn't a safe haven for terrorists, like it used to be. These European nations are cooperating more closely with their counter-terrorism counterparts in North Africa, helping to identify terrorists who have fled to Europe, and are trying to hide under a different name. Many of these terrorists resort to criminal scams to sustain themselves, and their terrorist activities. This provides an endless supply of false identity documents, but not immunity from intense government intelligence gathering operations.

 

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