Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has denied responsibility for kidnapping and subsequently killing an Algerian businessman. The group has issued a statement accusing the Algerian government of organising the crime.
Algerian media reported that a group of suspected AQIM insurgents abducted local businessman Hand Slimana on Sunday [14th November], and shot him dead as he tried to escape.
Shortly after news of the killing, 2,500 people took to the streets, in the remote Algerian town of Freha, demanding that Algerian security forces do more to protect them from al-Qa'ida militants.
The AQIM offered condolences to the businessman's family in a statement posted on a website used by the group, and said it had no connection to the kidnapping or the killing of Slimana, further accusing the government of perpetrating the crime.
"We confirm that the first and last enemy of our tribal enemies is the criminal Algerian regime and not the jihadists. It is very likely the apostates through their intelligence system had planned this operation indirectly as part of an ongoing devilish plan to recruit our Muslim brothers in the tribal region against their brothers the Mujahedeen," said AQIM in the statement.
Source: Reuters
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