Militant groups make a come back in Algeria, reports Nosreddine Qassem from Algiers Since the beginning of this year, Algerian terrorists have changed their tactics, focussing more and more on suicide attacks. August was particularly bloody, with four suicide bombings in the eastern province of Kabylia, now dubbed the deadly triangle. In other acts of violence the commander of the military sector in Jejil (400km east of Algiers) was assassinated and 11 security men were killed in Skikda (500km east of Algiers), including a lieutenant colonel. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (SGPC) claimed responsibility for the attacks in an audio recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera. The group said that the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of its members in Beni Douala, near Tizi Ouzou. The group threatened to respond to any further attacks against its members but reassured civilians that they are not a target of its operations. The success of the armed groups in carrying out operations against military targets -- police station in Tizi Ouzou, a police academy in Les Issers, and the military sector headquarters in Bouira -- has shaken the country. Now many question the efficacy of the government's response to the current wave of violence which is very different in style from the armed struggle of the 1990s. Instead of choosing soft targets and remote areas today's militants seem determined to take on the state. So far the authorities refuse to even speak about Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The official story is that these operations are the parting shots of a dying breed of armed groups. The suicide attacks demonstrate divisions within armed groups, claimed Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni. A government statement issued after the bombings called on the public to remain vigilant and vowed to continue fighting the militants. The government has vowed to push forward with its national reconciliation programme despite the bombings. Algerian Labour Party leader Louisa Hanoun believes that the recent acts of violence are designed to change the country's political scene. When the Americans were busy setting up their military command for Africa (AFRICOMB), Hanoun accused foreign hands of masterminding the violence. When bombings took place after a series of promising government economic measures, Hanoun suggested that an "economic mafia" was at work. The Islamic parties, including Al-Nahda, believe that the militants are trying to disrupt efforts at national reconciliation. The best way to fight terror is to eliminate social tensions, end corruption and generally help the poor, say moderate Islamists. Khaled Zeyari is a former national security officer with considerable experience in fighting Islamist groups. He is not surprised by the recent escalation, arguing that the infrastructure of the SGPC remains intact. National reconciliation efforts may have taken the wind from the militants' sails but it has not brought them to heel, he says. The militants are now trying to neutralise the public. By targeting the security forces, they are signalling that their quarrel is mainly with the government. Although most of the victims of the recent bombings were civilians, the SGPC still maintains that it is not targeting them. Zeyari lamented what he sees as the inexperience of the security personnel. Security forces, he says, are using antiquated tactics and have not kept up with the militants in terms of training and intelligence gathering. What makes the bombings particularly worrying is that the SGPC doesn't seem to be consistent about what it is trying to do. At times it rails against the "apostate" regime. Then it says it wants a caliphate in Mauritania. Then it denounces foreign influence and pledges to free the land of Islam from "infidels". No one knows for sure what the violence is all about. What is clear, however, is that the SGPC is doing all it can to imitate Al-Qaeda, down to suicide attacks followed by tapes sent to Al-Jazeera. But neither the Algerian government nor the public seem to believe that Al-Qaeda has moved into their country. The only ones who seem to believe the SGPC is part of Al-Qaeda are those who opposed national reconciliation to start with. former information minister Rehabi, who recently said that the situation in the country is similar to that in Afghanistan and Iraq, chastised the president for not doing more to crush the militants. Meanwhile, Washington has warned its citizens against travelling to Algeria, especially the province of Tizi Ouzou.
