Abdelkader Mokhtari (
kunya: ''Abu el-Ma'ali'', ''The
Gendarme
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
'')
[ was an Algerian commander who became a "sacred legend" for the ]Bosnian mujahideen
Bosnian mujahideen ( bs, Bosanski mudžahedini), also called ''El Mudžahid'' (from ar, مجاهد, ''mujāhid''), were foreign Muslim volunteers who fought on the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) side during the 1992–95 Bosnian War. They first arriv ...
in the Bosnian War.
Bosnia
Evan Kohlmann claimed that Mokhtari, an Algerian, came to Bosnia with experience from his time in the Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from french: Groupe Islamique Armé; ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المسلّحة, al-Jamāʿa l-ʾIslāmiyya l-Musallaḥa) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian gove ...
.[ He also stated that Mokhtari was serving as second-in-command of a ]Zenica
Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...
battalion, under the command of Anwar Shaaban with Fateh Kamal as his right-hand man in 1995,[ Kohlmann later claimed that a 1997 French report suggested that Mokhtari had managed to keep a cache of SA-7 missiles after the ]Dayton Accords
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...
, due to his protection and status with President Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
.[ Evan Kohlmann. Global Terror Alert]
Abu el-Maali
, 2005
In 1996, some sources suggested that Mokhtari was leading the 3rd Corps, known as the ''Gazi'a Force'', an Arabic term for retribution, which incorporated formerly independent mujahideen units into a single force. Other reports suggest he only led the training portion of the Corps, known as U-Force.
Karim Said Atmani
Karim Said Atmani ( ar, كريم سعيد عثماني, also ''Abu Isham'', ''Abu Hisham'') was alleged to be a document-forger for the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, Groupe islamique armé, and shared an apartment with Ahmed Ressam.Canadian Secur ...
served under his command during the Bosnian war.[
]
Later activities
In 1999, the United States conditioned assistance to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, demanding that the country first hand over Mokhtari to their custody.[
] While Izetbegović initially refused, he subsequently agreed to expel Mokhtari from the country, rather than deport him to the United States.
In 2005, Mokhtari was interviewed by a Bosnian magazine about his perspective on the trial against Abduladhim Maktouf, a Mujahideen alleged to have been involved in the mistreatment of Croatian prisoners. Mokhtari noted that he had married a Bosnian wife.
Death
Mokhtari died in Oran in October 2015. Salat al-Janazah
( ar, صلاة الجنازة) is the Islamic funeral prayer; a part of the Islamic funeral ritual. The prayer is performed in congregation to seek pardon for the deceased and all dead Muslims. The is a collective obligation upon Muslims () i. ...
was performed on 26 October 2015.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mokhtari, Abdelkader
Year of birth missing
Bosnian mujahideen
Algerian emigrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Armed Islamic Group of Algeria members
2015 deaths