LOC23:21
20:21 GMT
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (KUNA) -- US State Department announced on Tuesday that
it re-designated al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on its list of Foreign
Terrorist Organization.
"In the five years since its last review in 2004, AQIM, formerly known as
the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, has conducted numerous suicide
bombings and other lethal attacks that have killed or wounded hundreds in
Northern Africa," said State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly in a statement.
"AQIM has claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks in Algeria. The
most lethal attack to date occurred on December 11, 2007, when two nearly
simultaneous suicide operations attacked both a United Nations (UN) program
headquarters and the Algerian Constitutional Council, killing 42 people,
including 17 UN employees, and wounding 158 others," he added.
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg maintained the designation of
AQIM as a terrorist organization on October 16 in consultation with the
Department of Justice, Department of Treasury and other relevant US agencies.
Kelly noted that AQIM has broadened its area of operations outside of
Algeria with increasing attacks in northern Mali, Niger, and Mauritania.
"As recently as last August, AQIM attacked the French Embassy in
Nouakchott, Mauritania, wounding three. AQIM claimed responsibility for the
June 2009 murder of an American NGO worker in Nouakchott, and the May 2009
murder of a British hostage in northern Mali. In December 2008, AQIM seized
two Canadian diplomats working for the UN in Niger. AQIM has also attacked
soldiers from Mali and Mauritania, killing and wounding dozens," he added.
While the Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Daniel Benjamin said
that terrorist designations play an important role in disrupting funding
channels for Al Qaida and other terrorist groups, including the Al Qaida
affiliates in different parts of the world.
"They also send a message to other governments and financial institutions
around the world of our determination to keep the pressure on these groups.
They form an important element in creating joint efforts to limit the reach
and capabilities of such terrorist organizations," he added. (end)
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KUNA 272321 Oct 09NNNN