Incident Summary:
10/13/2008: On Monday afternoon at 1615, suspected al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) militants abducted an un-named civil servant at a fake roadblock near the village of Ath Sidi Amara, Timzerit district, Bourmerdes province, Algeria. According to witnesses, the AQLIM insurgents were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and disguised in National People's Army uniforms. Four days later on 10/17/2008 on Friday, AQIM militants beheaded the government employee. No ransom demand or claim of responsibility was made for the incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
200810130005
When:
2008-10-13
Country:
Algeria
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Boumerdes
City:
Near Timezret
Location Details:
The hostage taking attack took place at a fake roadblock near the village of Ath Sidi Amara, Timzerit district, Bourmerdes province, Algeria.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Government (General) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
An un-named civil servant |
| Nationality of Target |
Algeria |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
1 |
| US Hostages |
0 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
4 |
| Outcome |
Hostage(s) killed (not during rescue attempt) |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Kalashnikov rifles were used in the firearm attack and an unknown sharp weapon was used in the melee attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Salim Haddou, "Algerian Terrorist Group Abducts Civil Servant at Boumerdes Bogus Roadblock," World News Connection, La Depeche de Kabylie, October 15, 2008. |
| Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, "One Government Employee Kidnapped and Killed in Assault by Suspected AQIM in Timezrit Il Matten, Boumerdes, Algeria," National Counterterrorism Center, October 19, 2009. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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