Qaeda terror camp in Libya

Libyan forces have discovered a terrorist camp with ties to Al Qaeda in the nation8217;s southern desert, a French newspaper reported on Su...

Libyan forces have discovered a terrorist camp with ties to Al Qaeda in the nation8217;s southern desert, a French newspaper reported on Sunday. The report did not say if the camp was active or abandoned when it was found on June 24. Le Journal du Dimanche quoted European anti-terrorism officials as saying that the camp 8212; thought to be used by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat 8212; was near the border with Chad, not far from where Chadian rebel forces are holding one of the terrorist group8217;s most senior members, Amari Saifi, alias Al Para.

The rebel group has been negotiating for weeks about handing Saifi over to Algeria, where he is wanted in connection with terrorist strikes. Last month, Algerian forces gathered in the desert of Niger in hopes of a transfer, but withdrew when negotiations with the Chadian rebels bogged down and the Algerian forces8217; supplies ran short.

The Salafist Group, known by its French initials, GSPC, is North Africa8217;s largest, best-organised and wealthiest terrorist organisation. Its goal is to establish an Islamic state in Algeria.

Last year, Saifi received nearly 6 million in ransom from Germany for the release of kidnapped European tourists, money that he reportedly used to buy weapons and recruit fresh fighters in the largely ungoverned desert stretching from Mauritania to Chad.

Fearing that the GSPC and other Islamic terrorist groups could turn the Sahara into a base as they once did Afghanistan, the US has supported a regional effort to combat the group. US Marines are now in Chad to train soldiers there in anti-terrorism techniques.

It was as a result of that US-led effort that Saifi was tracked down and attacked in northern Chad earlier this year. He escaped only to be captured by the Chadian rebels who control a patch of territory close to the Libyan border.

Algeria continues to battle the GSPC in northern Libya. In June, it killed the group8217;s leader, Nabil Sahraoui, in an ambush, leaving Saifi as the most senior surviving member. Nonetheless, the group continues to carry out bold attacks.

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Last week, the GSPC claimed responsibility for a blast that wounded 11 people at a major electricity plant in Algiers. The government has said it is too early to say what caused the explosion.