Three armed Islamists, including a senior member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM [6]) thought to be close to its leader Abdelmalek Droukdel [7], were arrested in central Algeria [8]'s Ghardaia province on Aug. 15. Necib Tayeb AKA Abderrahmane Abou Ishak Essoufi, the head of AQIM's so-called "judicial committee," had been wanted since 1995. The three were apprehended in a four-wheel-drive vehicle loaded with weapons at a checkpoint at the entrance to Berriane while apparently en route to the Sahel. Authorities hailed the arrests as a "fatal blow" to AQIM, which is said to be badly divided by internal factionalism. (Magharebia [9], Aug. 23; AFP [10], Aug. 20)
