One year later, April 11th bombings still shaping Algerian policy

08/04/2008

Nearly a year after the tragic bombings in Algiers on April 11th, 2007, national security strategy has evolved considerably to face the changing threat of terrorism. New tactics employed by the authorities have achieved positive results, but much more effort will be required to put an end to the scourge of terrorism once and for all.

By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 08/04/08

[Getty Images] A policeman blocks the road to Lakhdaria, following a suicide attack on July 11, 2007. Since suicide bombings began in Algeria on April 11, 2007, Algeria has stepped up vehicle surveillance.

The fatal al-Qaeda bombings carried out last April 11th in Algeria forced security authorities to adapt their strategy to combat suicide operations: a kind of attack the country had never known, even during the violent period of the 1990s.

After the twin car bombings left 33 dead at the Government Palace and a police station in Bab Ezzouar, Algerian authorities tightened security in downtown areas and modified their overall strategy. They also called on citizens to remain vigilant.

In what he described as a "spontaneous, popular rise to fight terrorism", National Security Director Ali Tounsi said on March 29th that citizens are offering assistance to security agents by reporting anything that might undermine stability.

During the security crisis of the 1990s, citizens typically avoided such reporting for fear of being targeted by the armed groups. To encourage their involvement, the government established a 24-hour hotline to receive tips about known terrorists in a safe and anonymous way.

Security officials have been reminded numerous times over the past year of the importance of combating terrorism. Since the attacks of April 11th – which left 222 people injured in addition to the dead – there have been 11 more suicide bombings across the country, killing more than 100 people, mostly civilians.

As a result, security has been tightened in many sensitive locations, including points of entry into the capital and other major cities, as well as government offices and foreign embassies. Law enforcement personnel now monitor the movement of refrigerated trucks and covered delivery vehicles, and owners of utility vehicles or pickups have been ordered to report theft immediately to avoid implication in any attacks involving the vehicles.

Security services have also established neighbourhood security centres in the suburbs, many of which are believed to be hotbeds for terrorist recruitment. Also, to encourage further citizen involvement in tracking down suspected terrorists, pictures of known offenders have been posted in public places and police stations.

This policy was initiated in early January, after police learned that some beneficiaries of the National Peace and Reconciliation Charter had re-joined al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The Interior Ministry has also increased the number of new police recruits, aiming to expand the Algerian police from 140,000 to 200,000 officers by the end of 2009. Of these new recruits, 40,000 will be deployed around the capital alone, which has suffered a shortage of coverage in recent years.

Important as the security changes may be, the government has implemented additional measures to combat the threat of terrorism. Algeria's mosques have been tasked with confronting growing ideologies of extremism, through sermons denouncing violence and calling for tolerance.

Minister for Religious Affairs Bouabdallah Ghlamallah met with imams and religious scholars to enlist their aid in undermining the doctrine used by al-Qaeda to justify suicide operations. Radio Qur'an has been used as a platform for these scholars to present religious proof refuting the fatwas cited by al-Qaeda commander Abdelmalek Droukdel to motivate his followers.

These changes indicate an overall shift by Algerian authorities regarding terrorist attacks from reaction to prevention. In addition, the military has stepped up its offensive operations against strongholds of al-Qaeda.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said one of the pillars of the new strategy for combating suicide operations is the enhancement of intelligence work. Security personnel have made extensive use of information gleaned from surrendered terrorists to thwart attacks and apprehend suspects.

The new measures have also resulted in the killing of several known terrorists, including al-Qaeda second-in-command Saioud Samir, alias Samir Moussaab, who was killed on April 26th, 2007 in Bouira. In July, security forces killed Droukdel's top aide, Ali Dix. In October, the authorities dismantled the cell responsible for the April 11th attacks and killed the mastermind of the operation, Zoheir Harik.

Harik is also believed to have been behind the September 8th bombing of a navy barracks in Dellys and an attack on French and Italian workers in Bouira.

Experts in Algerian security acknowledge the successes of the new strategies, but maintain they are still insufficient. Speaking with Magharebia, Bouelam Ghoumrassa cited the failure of security authorities to prevent the July 11th attack on an army barracks in Lakhdaria or the December 11th bombings targeting the UN headquarters and Constitutional Council buildings in Algiers. "Nevertheless," he said, "that should not lead us to say that nothing positive has come of the strategies, as security authorities have managed to foil many suicide operations and to name many of the serious terrorists."

Intelligence work remains the most important means of containing the growing suicide attacks, Ghoumrassa said. He recommended that the government intensify its efforts in suburbs and popular neighbourhoods, improving social conditions to "cut off the oxygen" to terrorist recruiting in these areas.