World Cup 2010 attacks: Everything is possible with terrorists!
By: Mohamed Foily Samba
The branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb cannot commit terrorist acts in South Africa, unless it’s supported by other branches in the sub-region. As a matter of fact, AQIM is being pursued and chased from all sides in the Arab Maghreb region, making it impossible for the organization to even leave the Maghreb area.
The dismantling of a network of sixty Jihadists in Morocco recently, and the strengthening of security at the Mauritanian borders, with the installation of elite units that led to the arrest of drug and arms traffickers working with the Salafis, are both factors that have tightened the bottleneck around the armed branch that is now stuck there. On the other hand, the establishment of a special force composed of elements from the Mauritanian, Malian and Algerian armies – whose primary role is to hunt terrorists – has greatly contributed to strengthening security. Not to mention the deterrent presence of the U.S. Armed Forces and the French intelligence services that use cutting edge materials to detect any movement of terrorists.
Caught in the crossfire, terrorists are forced to lie low until they find a loophole to carry out sporadic actions such as abductions, for example, by making of the desert – where they hide – an ally.
All these factors mean that the branch of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb is unable to even leave its area because it is surrounded. This is why the possibility of an alliance with other terrorist groups to carry out attacks during the Football World Cup in South Africa is very plausible.
An event such as the World Cup – which brings together hundreds of people – favors the intrusion of terrorist bombers. With the financial means and the ramifications of various terrorist groups nowadays, it has become easy for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to have bonds in the target area, in order to perpetrate attacks there.
Therefore, drastic measures must be taken on the local level in order to prevent any infiltration. The USA-England game, planned for June 12 and which was targeted in the press release, must be postponed if necessary to obviate any attack eventuality, because terrorists do exist and are perhaps already in South Africa. The threats of attacks must be taken seriously because even if the armed branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is far from the area, all the other branches of al-Qaeda are alike and cause the same damage….
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Your Comments
commentsAnonymous About over 2 years ago
Mr Samba, your reasoning about the branch of terrorists in the Islamic Maghreb is very rational. However, in the last paragraph, you suggested to postpone the US-UK game. I personally think that this is not the solution because this will only contribute to creating fear and allowing terrorists to find vulnerabilities. I rather believe that South Africans should take the necessary measures like locking the stadium’s doors by applying security measures similar to those applied in airports. They should also use bomb detection dogs and systematically inspect all spectators. This is the only way to avoid potential attacks, which will hopefully not take place.
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Anonymous About over 2 years ago
Mohamed Joub: If we follow the regional action – and I mean by that the unified command between Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Algeria; and which is implicitly backed by the United States – in the shared desert between the four countries, we will be reassured. We can now say that these countries have started to deal seriously with this issue. However, we should not forget that there are elements working for al-Qaeda without having regulatory links with the organization. I would like to draw attention here to those who promote the ideas of this organization, while walking around in their communities. Therefore, I urge the organization committee of the Africa Cup of Nations to beware of dormant cells.
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