Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)
The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) aims to establish an Islamic state within Algeria. Addtionaly it seeks to destroy western targets. The GSPC has been visible since 1996 and is an offshoot of the GIA. Reportedly the GSPC is led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Belmokhtar is a former soldier who, after becoming a radical, has fought in Afghanistan.
The organizations strength is believed to be around 300.
The GSPC primarily operated in and around Algeria.
The GSPC is reported to have ties to Al-Qaeda.
The group kidnaped 32 European tourists while they were exploring the Sahara Desert. The GSPC intended to hold the tourists for ransom. The group is thought to be financed through the smuggling of items such as vehicles, cigarettes, drugs, and arms. On March 11, 2004 news sources reported that a firefight had occurred between the Chad military and an Algerian terrorist group, Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). This firefight, which is believed to have resulted in the death of some 43 GSPC members, apparently began in Niger and crossed into Chad. The fighting took place over two days. The group, led by a former Algerian soldier named Saifi Ammari and nicknamed "the Para," had been tracked across the Sahara from its bases in the Algeria-Mali border area. It is not clear if "the Para" was involved in the attack.
