Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb names new emir

Al-Qaeda in the Arab Marghreb named on Nov. 20 its new commander.

This came six months after the organization's leader Abdelmalek Droukdel was killed. Droukdel was killed in northern Mali in a French airstrike in June.

Andalus, the media arm of the organization, announced in a new release that Abu Aubaidah Youssef al-Enabi would be the new commander of the al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb.

Face-saving

The al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb made an attempt in March last year to whitewash its reputation and deny involvement in the violence that took place in what are known as Algeria's ten bloody years. Thousands of innocent Algerians were killed in those years as battles raged between the Algerian army and the country's Islamists.

Andalus said in its new release that al-Qaeda had participated in the protests that swept through Algeria last year to demand then-Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down.

It also said that al-Qaeda had nothing to do with any violent actions taking place in Algeria at present. Andalus noted that the guns of the al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb are only pointed at the Algerian regime, not the Algerian people.

Who is al-Enabi?

Al-Enabi is one of the most dangerous terrorists of al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb. He is a founder of what is known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. The group committed a large number of terrorist attacks against policemen and civilians in Algeria.

Enabi survived an attempt on his life in November 2009. However, he sustained serious injuries during an ambush made by the Algerian army. The army succeeded also in killing three senior al-Qaeda commanders in the same operation.