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Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Mokhtar Belmokhtar (; ar, مختار بلمختار;pronounced in Algerian Arabic as born 1 June 1972), also known as Khalid Abu al-Abbas, The One-Eyed, Nelson, and The Uncatchable, is an Algerian leader of the group Al-Murabitoun, former military commander of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, smuggler and weapons dealer. He was twice convicted and sentenced to death ''in absentia'' under separate charges in Algerian courts: in 2007 for terrorism and in 2008 for murder. In 2004, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Algeria for terrorist activities.''Algeria: Court Sentences Fugitive Qaeda Leader To Death'', Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 23 January 2012, Internet article. Born in northern Algeria, Belmokhtar traveled to Afghanistan in 1991 to fight with the ''mujahadeen'' against the pro-Soviet government following the withdrawal of Soviet Union troops. There, he lost his left eye while mishandling explosives. He later joined the Islamist GIA fighting in the Algerian Civil War and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghardaïa
Ghardaïa ( ar, غرداية, Mzab-Berber: ''Taɣerdayt'') is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,423 according to the 2008 census, up from 87,599 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.7%. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab. The M'zab valley in the Ghardaïa Province (Wilaya) was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, as a cultural property evaluated under the criteria II (for its settlement affecting urban planning even to the present century), III (for its Ibadi cultural values), and V (a settlement culture which has prevailed to the present century). Ghardaïa is part of a pentapolis, a hilltop city amongst four others, built almost a thousand years ago in the M’Zab valley. It was founded by the Mozabites, an Ibadi sect of the Amazigh Muslims. It is a major centre of date production and the manufacture of rugs and cloth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mourabitoun (jihadist Group)
Al-Mourabitoun () was an African militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Al-Mulathameen. On 4 December 2015, it joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group seeks to implement Sharia law in Mali, Algeria, southwestern Libya, and Niger. On 2 March 2017, al-Mourabitoun's cells in Mali, along with those of Ansar Dine, Macina Liberation Front and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb merged into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali, after its leaders swore allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri. Origins and membership Al-Mourabitoun was composed mostly of Tuaregs and Arabs from the northern Mali regions of Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao, but also included Algerians, Tunisians and other nationalities. Its area of operations was in north Mali, near towns such as Tessalit and Ansongo. The group's esta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Aménas Hostage Crisis
The In Amenas hostage crisis began on 16 January 2013, when al-Qaeda-linked terrorists affiliated with a brigade led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar took expat hostages at the Tigantourine gas facility near In Amenas, Algeria. One of Belmokhtar's senior lieutenants, Abdul al Nigeri, led the attack and was among the terrorists killed. After four days, the Algerian special forces raided the site, in an effort to free the hostages. At least 39 foreign hostages were killed along with an Algerian security guard, although the true figure is not known, as were 29 terrorists. A total of 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners were freed. Three terrorists were captured. It was one of many attacks in the Maghreb carried out by Islamist groups since 2002. There is evidence that the threat was increasing prior to this incident. There is also evidence of a direct threat to expat workers. Attack The most detailed publicly available information about the attack comes from the transcript of the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في بلاد المغرب الإسلامي, Tanẓīm al-Qā'idah fī Bilād al-Maghrib al-Islāmī), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgency campaign in the Maghreb and Sahel regions. The group originated as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). It has since declared its intention to attack European (including Spanish and French) and American targets. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Membership is mostly drawn from the Algerian and local Saharan communities (such as the Tuaregs and Berabiche tribal clans of Mali), as well as Moroccans from city suburbs of the North African country. The group has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The population of Mali is million. 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country's southern part is in the Sudanian savanna, where the majority of inhabitants live, and both the Niger and Senegal rivers pass through. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining. One of Mali's most prominent natural resources is gold, and the country is the third largest producer of gold on the African continent. It also exports salt. Present-day Mali was once part of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev (Ukrainian SSR), Minsk ( Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Government ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan
The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov. Planning for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union (USSR) from the Afghan War began soon after Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union attempted to consolidate the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan's hold over power in the country. During this period, the military and intelligence organizations of the USSR worked with the government of Mohammad Najibullah to improve relations between the government in Kabul and the leaders of rebel factions. The diplomatic relationship between the USSR and the United States improved at the same time as it became clear to the Soviet Union that this policy of consolidating power around Najibullah's government in Kabul would not produce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mujahadeen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (''ummah''). The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cyprus, and the Philippines. Early history In its roots, the Arabic word ''mujahideen'' refers to any person performing ''jihad''. In its post-classical meaning, ''jihad'' refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil War In Afghanistan (1989-1992)
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see also Mongol invasion of Central Asia (1216–1222) *Mughal conquests in Afghanistan (1526) *Afghan Civil War (1863–1869), a civil war between Sher Ali Khan and Mohammad Afzal Khan's faction after the death of Dost Mohammad Khan *Anglo-Afghan War, Anglo−Afghan Wars (first involvement of the British Empire in Afghanistan via the British Raj) **First Anglo-Afghan War, First Anglo−Afghan War (1839–1842) **Second Anglo-Afghan War, Second Anglo−Afghan War (1878–1880) **Third Anglo-Afghan War, Third Anglo−Afghan War (1919) *Panjdeh incident (1885), first major incursion into Afghanistan by the Russian Empire during the Great Game (1830–1907) with the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland *Afghan Civil War (1928–1929), First Afghan C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. , Demographics of Afghanistan, its population is 40.2 million (officially estimated to be 32.9 million), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services in Dutch ended on 10 May 2012. English and Indonesian language services ceased on 29 June 2012 due to steep budget cuts imposed by the Dutch government and a concomitant change in focus. The last programme broadcast on shortwave was a daily half-hour show in Spanish for Cuba named ''El Toque'' (''The Touch'') on 1 August 2014. It was replaced by RNW Media, a Dutch governmental organisation for free speech and social change around the world. History Early days (Philips Radio) Following a series of experiments on various wavelengths in 1925, reports of good reception from a low-power shortwave transmitter were received from Jakarta on 11 March 1927. Dutch Queen Wilhelmina made what is believed to be the world's first royal broadcast on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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