Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb
The Salafist movement advocates what it considers a pure interpretation of the Koran. In 1996, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) broke away from another of Algeria's armed resistance groups, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). Unlike the GIA, the GSPC garnered some popular support by vowing not to attack civilians inside Algeria. By 2000, GSPC had taken over GIA's networks in Europe and North Africa, according to Italian investigators. In 2003, GSPC received...