Sep 18, 2015 - Institute for the study of war
 

Taliban elements and other militant groups are conducting operations across Afghanistan, including spectacular attacks against major population centers and U.S. bases. The Haqqa­ni Network, a Taliban aligned-group, continues to pressure the ANSF and NATO forces with spectacular attacks in Kabul and Khost. Taliban elements are also conducting numerous ground assaults to seize district centers, especially in northern and southern Afghanistan. These campaigns comprised the 2015 warm weather from April 2015- September 2015. There have been several notable developments following the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar onJuly 29. First, Taliban militants have claimed control of two district cen­ters in Helmand on August II and August 26. Second, ISIS's Wilayat Khorasan have claimed control of seven district centers in Nangarhar over the course of July and September. Third, Taliban infighting has escalated as different factions compete and express varying positions on who should lead the Taliban movement.

Read more

March 21, 2015 By Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY – Defense News

U.S. troops were evacuating a southern Yemen air base Saturday after al-Qaeda seized a nearby town amid growing violence in the war-torn nation, multiple media outlets reported.

Military forces, including Special Forces commandoes, were leaving the Al Anad air base near the southern city of al-Houta, the Associated Press and CNN reported citing unnamed officials. About 100 American troops and Special Forces members are stationed there.

The troops are the last American forces stationed in Yemen, CNN reported. Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch — considered the terror organization's most dangerous — seized al-Houta on Friday.

The evacuation comes amid growing sectarian violence in the mostly Sunni nation under assault from Shiite rebels known as the Houthis, who are the sworn enemies of the Sunni al-Qaeda terrorists.

On Saturday, the Houthis called for rebels to battle forces loyal to the nation's president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, AP reported. Hadi fled to a southern port city of Aden last month after being placed under house arrest by the Houthis and remains the country's internationally recognized president.

The call to arms came shortly after Hadi gave a defiant speech, where he declared Aden a "temporary capital" and challenged the rebels to stop tricking the nation's residents in his first address since he fled, AP reported.

The Houthis, backed by Iran's Shiite government, took over the capital in September. The rebels control at least nine of Yemen's 21 provinces. They've seized parts of the U.S.-backed government, threatening a key American anti-terrorism partner in the region.

The Pentagon has targeted members of al-Qaeda's Yemen branch with drone strikes and supported Yemen's armed forces in their fight against the militants. The base being evacuated Saturday houses American and European military advisors, AP reported.

Diplomats from the United States and several European nations fled Yemen in February amid embassy closures resulting from deteriorating security conditions.

In the past week, violence in the country has only grown. On Friday, 137 were killed and 357 were wounded after four suicide bombers targeted two Shiite mosques in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, located more than 200 miles north of al-Houta. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the nation's history.

A group claiming to be a Yemeni branch of the Islamic State, composed of Sunni extremists who are rivals of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for Friday's bombings. The claim could not be verified, but would mark the first attack by the group in Yemen if confirmed.

However, officials in Washington raised doubts as to whether the Islamic State even has the operational capability to carry out such an attack in the country.

Fighting in southern Yemen has also ticked up. The international airport in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden was forced to close Thursday when forces loyal to Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, waged a gunbattle with security forces loyal to Hadi. That incident left 13 people dead.

On Friday, the State Department condemned the violence, including airstrikes that targeted the presidential palace in Aden.

"We call upon all Yemeni parties to return in good faith to a political dialogue to resolve their differences," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement. "Political instability threatens the well-being of all Yemenis and denies them the opportunity to live in safety, peace and prosperity."

The U.S. pivot (or rebalance) towards Asia is America’s “I’m back” moment and a warning to China (to paraphrase The Terminator’s “I’ll be back” message). For Japanese who fear Chinese expansionism it is a welcome development. But there is now a risk of a counter-pivot. A full-scale war with Russia is unlikely. But the invasion of Ukraine, combined with European disunity, vacillation, and weakness, ensures that Washington will focus more on NATO’s eastern borders in the coming months and probably years.

Read full article

* Robert Dujarric is Director, Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan, robertdujarric@gmail.com

30 January 2015 Analysis by BBC Monitoring

The Islamic State (IS) group has forged links with militants across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, embracing regional franchises that have pledged allegiance to the group.

The latest branch was announced in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, on 26 January. The first new branches beyond the group's strongholds in Syria and Iraq were announced by IS leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi in November when he accepted pledges of allegiance from jihadists in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Some of those pledges came from existing groups which went on to re-brand themselves as new IS "provinces", or wilayat, such as the Egyptian Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and Algeria's Jund al-Khilafah. The most prolific branches have been those in Libya and Egypt, which have tapped into the IS media network to publish a steady flow of propaganda, highlighting attacks and publicising their attempts at governance. Others have maintained a shadowy presence. For example, the IS Yemeni and Saudi provinces have yet to claim any activities or establish propaganda channels. But the impact of the IS expansion has nevertheless been felt by its jihadist rivals in al-Qaeda, which has branches in many of the areas IS has moved into.

Read more

While al-Qaeda made a frightening return with its attack in Paris last week, 2014 was very much marked by a different, yet equally menacing form of terror: the rapid ascent of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant organisation, known as ISIL or ISIS (Daech in Arabic). Now running a proto-state, ISIL has been elevated from a mere terrorist group to something far more ambitious. Whereas al-Qaeda and its outlets conduct terrorist attacks as trained commandos with pre-identified, high-profile targets, ISIL encourages suicide bombings and ‘lone wolf’ actions, as also the two Paris attacks (however coordinated) showed.

Yet ISIL’s aspirations to forge a state based on extremist interpretations of Islam run even higher. A key question therefore is not only whether ISIL can be contained but can other groups replicate its achievements?

Download document

General Sir Peter Wall, the Chief of the General Staff, said a 'resurgent' Taliban and al-Qaeda could see combat troops being redeployed in Afghanistan - photo EMA

08 Sep 2014 By Con Coughlin

The head of the Army is retiring with a warning to the Government. He talks exclusively to Con Coughlin

In an Army career spanning 41 years, General Sir Peter Wall has seen his fair share of modern conflict. When he passed out from Sandhurst as a young officer in the Royal Engineers, the threats facing Britain ranged from the Cold War stand-off with Moscow to the bitter struggle with the IRA. Now, as he retires from a career that has seen him rise to the Army’s highest position as Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter cannot help but reflect on the similar types of threats Britain faces today.

Read full article

10 August 2014 at 14:27 GMT BBC Africa

French forces have bombed Islamist militant positions in northern Mali.

Four or five bombs were dropped in the Esssakane region, west of the city of Timbuktu on Sunday morning, the BBC's Alex Duval Smith in Mali reports.

The UN has said al-Qaeda militants were active in the area. Last month Timbuktu airport came under rocket attack.

France intervened in Mali in January last year to try to drive out al-Qaeda-linked groups, which had taken over the north of the country.

Last month the French government said it was setting up a new military operation to stop the emergence of jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa.

Both ethnic Tuareg separatists and al-Qaeda-linked militants are operating in northern Mali.

Tuareg rebels agreed a ceasefire with Mali's government in May, and the two have been holding peace talks in Algeria.

17/05/2014 Par Le Figaro.fr avec AFP/Reuters

François Hollande a affirmé aujourd'hui lors d'un mini-sommet africain sur la sécurité régionale que le groupe islamiste Boko Haram était devenu "une menace pour l'ensemble de l'Afrique de l'Ouest et maintenant pour l'Afrique centrale avec des liens établis avec Aqmi et d'autres organisations terroristes".

"Nous connaissons la menace", a dit Hollande en mentionnant que l'Europe était une cible.

"Nous sommes ici pour déclarer la guerre à Boko Haram", a résumé le président camerounais Paul Biya.

Le président français réunissait les chefs d'Etat du Nigeria, du Niger, du Cameroun, du Tchad et du Bénin un mois après l'enlèvement de plus de 200 lycéennes par Boko Haram au Nigéria. Les Etats-Unis, la Grande Bretagne et l'Union européenne ont aussi été conviés à ce sommet.

François Hollande a également appelé à mettre en oeuvre un "plan global" visant "à échanger les informations, à coordonner les actions, à controler les frontières".

Boko Haram "doit être vaincu par les pays de la région avec notre soutien", avait déclaré avant l'ouverture du sommet le chef de la diplomatie britannique William Hague.

L'enlèvement massif le 14 avril dernier des 223 lycéennes à Chibok, dans l'Etat de Borno, et les vidéos terrifiantes du chef de Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, menaçant de marier de force les jeunes femmes ou d'en faire des esclaves, ont suscité un mouvement d'indignation mondiale et braqué les projecteurs sur une violence jusqu'alors peu médiatisée.

19 January 2014 alarabiya.net (AP)

Swathed in a white turban and robes, Eissa Abdel Majid sits in his militia barracks on the edge of the desert describing a losing battle to stem the flow of armed militants with suspected links to al-Qaeda - who use it as a freeway across northern Africa.

He says he's fed up with trying to guard borders and oil installations in a power vacuum left by the fall of Moammar Qaddafi: "They are getting weapons and building their strength," he says, "because the government is weak."

In the rocky mountains and dune-covered wastes of southwestern Libya, al-Qaeda's North African branch has established a haven after French and West African forces drove them out of their fledgling Islamic state in northern Mali a year ago. Now, according to interviews with local soldiers, residents, officials and Western diplomats, it is restocking weapons and mining disaffected minorities for new recruits as it prepares to relaunch attacks.

It's an al-Qaeda pattern seen around the world, in hot spots such as Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and increasingly here in North Africa: seemingly defeated, the terror network only retreats to remote areas, regroups and eventually bounces back - pointing to the extreme difficulties involved in stamping out the threat.

Mohmamad, an officer in the Libyan army based in Ubari - the last major town in the south before the Saharan sands reach the borders of Niger and Algeria - said that his soldiers frequently run into SUVs filled with armed bearded men from Mali, Algeria and Libya coming here to buy weapons and supplies.

"There are occasional clashes with them but their forces are stronger than ours," said the officer who wore surplus U.S.-style digital camouflage with Libyan army patches sewed on. He asked that his last name not be used for fear of being targeted by jihadists. Momhamad said many people in Ubari are active sympathizers or at least trade with these militants, whom he described as linked to al-Qaeda.

"Most people know who they are but without a central government, you can't really do anything," he said. "We can do little on the borders and sometimes we just let them through."

U.S. officials have confirmed the existence of al-Qaeda-linked camps in southwest Libya, and a U.N. official based in Sebha, Libya's main southern city, described the extremist group as being "all around" the area. A high-level Algerian army officer based in the Saharan city of Tamanrasset also confirmed al-Qaeda's presence in Libya and said his forces were remaining vigilant along the Mali border despite plans for a new African force once the French pull out.

From desert bases, experts and Western officials say, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is building up links with like-minded jihadists in northern Libya, especially in eastern coastal cities such as Derna and Benghazi, as well as militant groups in Nigeria, and preparing for new attacks on Western targets.

One prominent Morocco-based al-Qaeda expert, who has interviewed former and current leaders of AQIM in Mauritania, said there are even signs the group is preparing to recapture lost territory northern Mali once the French leave.

"The strategy that people told me in Mauritania was that they always withdraw to Libya where they can hide and wait for the French to leave," said Djalil Lounnas, an Algerian researcher at the University of Montreal's Center for International Peace and Security Studies.

The growing al-Qaeda presence in southern Libya has raised concerns in the West, with one British official describing the security situation in the region as potentially more dangerous than before the French intervened. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about security matters. Since the French intervention in Mali, at least two deadly attacks on Western targets in nearby Niger were launched from southern Libya.

While the al-Qaeda militants move throughout this desert region, their camps are mostly hidden in the valleys of the Akkakush mountains north of the town of Ghat, on Libya's border with Algeria, said Claudia Gazzini, the Libya-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, who based her information on Tuareg military commanders based there.

The Tuareg are a nomadic desert people spread across the Sahara throughout Mali, Niger, Libya, Algeria and Mauritania. With no state of their own, they have mounted revolts for independence numerous times over the past decades. While their rootlessness and grievances make them receptive to al-Qaeda's message, their deep knowledge of the terrain make them an invaluable resource for a terror network seeking to rebuild in hiding.

In a Sebha slum filled with thousands of displaced Tuareg, members of the nomadic people say al-Qaeda often provides the best shot at a decent future.

"We have seen (Tuareg) go up to eastern Libya and return with beards, Islamic-style outfits and talking about religion - they pay money so anything is possible," said Abdallah Sherif, a Tuareg doctor and social worker, who said he has witnessed al-Qaeda recruiting attempts first hand.

Next to him, Ali Suleiman, a Tuareg who says he fought for an independent state in northern Mali last year, speaks of despair in the slums: "If you leave someone in such conditions," he said, "they will join extremist groups like al-Qaeda or become drug smugglers."

In a November conference on border security in this desert region, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said disenfranchised groups like the Tuareg have to be helped economically in order to reduce the incentive for them to become al-Qaeda allies. "In Libya we need to involve the minorities living across the borders and they need to have legal status," he said. "This calls for the economic development of the region."

Intermarrying with the Tuareg has given al-Qaeda the support of these tribal people and allowed them to move quickly across Africa through the desert.

"Some members of the Tuareg community are acting as support staff, bringing food and water into these valleys," Gazzini said, noting that the same region once supported a desert safari industry. "It's the same setup as when the tourists were in these areas."

According to the men guarding the borders and patrolling the desert, al-Qaeda militants take their four wheel drive vehicles east across the country and then north up to Benghazi and Derna - the intellectual heart of Libya's jihadism.

It was in Libya's coastal areas that the anti-Qaddafi Libyan Islamic Fighting Group was formed in the 1990s, some of whose members later joined al-Qaida, while others became part of the new Libyan government. It's also the home of the Ansar al-Shariah movement that has been linked to the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other diplomats last year.

While al-Qaeda seeks new friends in southern Libya, it is also exploiting enmities between the area's dominant Arab tribes - who long controlled the region - and the Tuareg and Tabu peoples who have created their own militias since Gadhafi's fall.

In Sebha, there are already 27 militias vying for power, leaving little hope for any concerted push against al-Qaeda. Pitched battles have flared several times in the last year, especially between the Tabu and Arab tribes.

Al-Qaeda has developed ties with several different militias and keeps a low profile while the different factions clash, several militia leaders and smugglers told AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

It's a situation that allows al-Qaeda to operate at will: Abdel Majid, the militia leader in Sebha, describes witnessing a constant flow of jihadists between Ubari and Derna.

"Arabs from Derna came down to join the battle in Mali and then headed back in the other direction," he said.

14 novembre 2013 Liberation.fr (AFP)

Des armes ont été saisies et des membres d'Al-Qaeda «neutralisés» dans les environs de Tessalit, selon l'armée.

Une opération militaire ponctuelle a été menée dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi dans le désert malien, lors de laquelle des armes ont été saisies et des membres d’Aqmi «neutralisés», a indiqué l’amiral Edouard Guillaud, chef d’état-major des armées (CEMA).

Interrogé par Europe 1 sur la situation dans ce pays, le haut responsable a relevé que les opérations militaires «ne sont pas encore terminées». Exemple : «cette nuit même, à 2h30 du matin, nous avons une opération spéciale contre un pick up dans le désert, à à peu près 200-250 kilomètres à l’ouest de Tessalit, donc en plein milieu du désert, où nous avons neutralisé un certain nombre de gens d’Al-Qaeda». L’opération, a relevé l’officier général, «continue et maintenant nous récupérons le matériel qui va "parler" d’une certaine façon».

Suite de l’article

24.09.2013 BBC Afrique
 

Le groupe militant islamiste somalien shebab a revendiqué l’attaque du centre commercial Westgate à Nairobi au Kenya.

Al-Shabaab signifie “la jeunesse” en arabe.

Le groupe a émergé commet aile militaire radicale de l'Union des tribunaux islamiques en Somalie, et s’est fait connaître en 2006 en combattant les forces éthiopiennes venues soutenir le gouvernement somalien de transition.

Le groupe jihadiste a occupé Mogadiscio avant que les forces de l’Union Africaine ne le chasse de la capitale, mais il contrôle toujours les campagnes du sud et mène régulièrement des attaques dans la capitale.

Les shebab adhèrent à la vision salafiste de l’Islam, inspirée de l’Arabie saoudite, qui inclut la lapidation à mort des femmes accusées d’adultère et l’amputation des mains des personnes accusées de vols.

La plupart des Somaliens sont sunnites.

Les shebab ont formé une alliance avec al-Qaida, et selon de plusieurs sources, de nombreux jijadistes étrangers sont allé en Somalie pour prêter main forte aux shebab.

Leur nombre est estimé à entre 5.000 et 9.000.

Qui est leur leader?

La direction du groupe a fait l’objet de violentes rivalités ces derniers mois, car le groupe est confronté à des pertes de territoires, une baisse de ses sources de financement et une scission idéologique qui oppose ceux visent des priorités domestiques et ceux qui souhaitent mener un jihad international.

Ahmed Abdi Godane, dit Mokthar Abu Zoubayr, a pris l'ascendant sur les shebab.

Rarement aperçu en public, il est originaire du Somaliland, région du nord de la Somalie qui a déclaré son indépendance.

Son prédécesseur Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro a été tué en 2008 dans un raid aérien américain.

Ahmed Abdi Godane est l’instigateur de l’alliance du groupe avec Al-Qaida, et est partisan d’une ligne dure et du jihad international.

Sa tête est mise à prix par les Américains pour 7 millions de dollars.

Son rival Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys était partisan d’une lutte axée sur la Somalie.

Plusieurs de ses alliés et été tués, et il s’est rendu au gouvernement.

Quelle zone de Somalie les shebabs contrôlent-ils?

Les shebab avaient pris le contrôle de quasiment l’ensemble de la capitale Mogadiscio en 2006, et de large portions du centre et du sud de la Somalie jusqu’à l’intervention des forces de l’Union Africaine en 2011.

Le groupe a été chassé de Mogadiscio en 2011, et de la ville portuaire de Kismayo en septembre 2012, qui constituait un bastion clé du groupe.

Il contrôle toujours de larges zones rurales, notamment dans le sud, où il a imposé la charia.

Les shebab mènent toujours de nombreux attentats suicides à Mogadiscio et ailleurs.

Les analystes estiment que le groupe se concentre de plus en plus sur des techniques de guerilla pour contrer la puissance de feu des forces de l’UA.

Le groupe est pressurisé sur plusieurs fronts depuis l’incursion des forces kényanes en Somalie en 2011, désormais sous la bannière de l’UA.

De quels soutiens étrangers les shebab disposent-ils?

Les shebab ont annoncé leur alliance avec al-Qaida en février 2012.

Dans une vidéo commune, le leader des shebab Ahmed Abdi Godane a prêté son allégeance au chef d’Al-Qaida Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Les deux groupes travaillent ensemble, et des combattants étrangers combattent aux coté des Somaliens, venus notamment du Kenya, d’Ouganda, de Tanzanie ou de l’Occident.

Les responsables américains pensent qu’étant donné le repli d’Al-Qaida en Afghanistan et au Pakistan depuis la mort d’Osama Ben Laden, ses combattants se réfugient de plus en plus en Somalie.

Hostiles à toute intervention occidentale, les shebab ont interdit toute aide alimentaire en 2011 des zones qu’ils contrôlent, et chassé les ONG.

L’Erythrée est le seul allié régional des shebab, pour contrer l’influence de son ennemi juré l’Ethiopie, qui avait envoyé ses soldats en Somalie entre 2006 et 2009.

L’Erythrée dément fournir des armes aux shebab.

Comment sont financé les shebab?

Dans un rapport publié par l’ONU, les revenus du groupe étaient estimés à entre 70 et 100 millions de dollars US en 2011, essentiellement des taxes portuaires.

Ces revenus ont disparus depuis la perte de Mogadiscio et Kismayo.

L’ONU a demandé aux pays du Moyen Orient de mettre fin à un trafic illégal de charbon de bois qui contribue au financement des shebab, en violation des sanctions internationales.

Pourquoi viser le Kenya?

Les shebab ont pris pour cible le Kenya depuis l’envoi de soldats kényans dans le sud de la Somalie en octobre 2011.

Ces soldats ont ensuite été intégrés dans la force de l’Union africaine.

Quelles attaques les sheb ont-ils mené hors de Somalie?

Les shebabs ont revendiqué l’attaque meurtrière du centre commercial Westland à Nairobi le 21 sepetembre 2013.

Ils sont responsables d’un double attentat suicide dans la capitale ougandaise Kamapala, qui avait fait 76 morts en 2010 parmi des spectateurs qui regardaient la Coupe du Monde de football.

L’Ouganda avait été visé car il fournit en troupes la force de l’UA en Somalie, de meme que le Burundi.

May 07, 2013 Spacewar.com (AFP)

Tunis - Tunisian authorities on Tuesday recognised that two jihadist groups which the army has been hunting on the Algerian border have links to Al-Qaeda, stressing their determination to take them out.

"There are two groups, one in the Kef region with around 15 people and the other in Mount Chaambi with around 20 people," interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui told reporters, referring to the groups being pursued by the army since last week.

"There is a connection between the two groups, and the one in the Chaambi region has ties with the Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade, which is linked to Al-Qaeda."

"We will respond militarily to anyone who takes up arms against the state," Aroui added.

Since the revolution in January 2011 that ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has seen a sharp rise in the activity of radical Islamist groups that were suppressed under the former dictator.

Those groups have been blamed for a wave of violence, notably an attack on the US embassy last September and the assassination of a leftist opposition leader in February, cases which the ruling Islamist party Ennahda has sought to portray as isolated incidents.

The jihadists hiding out in the remote Mount Chaambi region are blamed for an attack on a border post in December that killed a member of the national guard.

The army says there have been no direct clashes with the group, but homemade explosive devices they have place in the area have so far wounded 16 members of the security forces involved in the hunt, five of who lost legs.

Explosives, coded documents, maps and mobile phones were discovered at a camp used by the group, and the army troops has been using mortar fire to try to demine the area.

Aroui said the Chaambi fighters were from "neighbouring countries," notably Algeria, while army sources on the ground have said some were veteran Islamist militants who fought in northern Mali.

"They wanted to make Chaambi their base, but we have dismantled it and they no longer have a refuge," said army spokesman Mokhtar Ben Nasr, adding that a search for the second group was launched on Tuesday in Kef, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the north.

"An extensive search is underway in the Kef and Jendouba mountains," also close to the Algerian border, Ben Nasr said, without elaborating.

Tunisia and Algeria share a long, porous border which is often used by smugglers, and the army spokesman said the two countries were cooperating in the hunt for the jihadists.

Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki went to meet the troops involved in the search operations on Tuesday, according to his office.

"We are currently experiencing a crisis that requires a national effort," Marzouki's spokesman Adnene Manser told reporters.

"We need to have confidence in our army and give it strong support in combating this threat," he said.

Tunisia's opposition has strongly criticised the government for failing to catch the jihadists, accusing it of recognising the threat they pose too late, despite the problems they have caused, and condemning the poorly-equipped state of the armed forces.

In December, the authorities announced the arrest of 16 militants belonging to the Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade, described as a cell of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM ), in Tunisia's Kasserine region, where Mount Chaambi is located.

But they had not until now confirmed a link between those arrested and the "terrorist group" holed up in the Chaambi region that the security forces have been tracking since the deadly December attack on the border post.

The government has in recent months warned of jihadists linked to AQIM infiltrating Tunisia's borders and undermining its stability, especially since their occupation of northern Mali last year.

Bolstering those concerns, a leader of Al-Qaeda's north Africa affiliate urged Muslims worldwide to attack French interests in retaliation for France's military intervention in Mali, in a video recorded last month and posted online. There are an estimated 30,000 French citizens living in Tunisia.