Aqm Case Study

AQIM is a North African affiliate of al-Qaida, which emerged from an armed Islamist insurgency founded in Algeria by Hassan Hattab in the 1990s. The group is primarily concerned with pursuing regional interests and imposing Sharia law in primarily Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. Al-Qaida’s connection to Algeria goes back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan, where many Algerian men travelled to fight with the mujahedeen under the leadership of Osama bin Laden against the Soviet Union. This connection surfaced again in 1994, when Osama bin Laden considered moving his operational base to Algeria but was rejected by local militant groups who considered the organizations’ international vision to be outside of the scope of their interests. Many relationships were also created from the many Algerian fighters that have travelled to fight in different insurgencies within the region. It was not until the former Salifist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) first officially merged with al-Qaida in September 2006, announced by one of al-Qaida’s highest-ranking officials, Azman al-Zawahir, that it became fully rebranded as AQIM in January 2007. The merger was a result of several years of negotiations …show more content…
Throughout its operations, AQAP has shown close connections to al-Qaida’s core. For example, Osama bin Laden personally chooses the leadership positions in AQAP in 2010. The former leader paid special attention to AQAP. As Farrall describes “AQAP is often referred to as an al-Qaida franchise, but it is better described as a branch. It was created by, and continues to operate under, the leadership of core al-Qaida members”. Unlike AQIM where Droukdal swore allegiance to bin Laden in order to be absorbed under the al-Qaida umbrella, from the beginning AQAP has answered directly to the al-Qaida core. AQAP is not a large organization. In 2010, its size was estimated to be between 100-600