Overview
GTD ID:
200604070004
When:
2006-04-07
Country:
Algeria
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Ghardaia
City:
Near Ouardhia
Location Details:
100 km south of Mnaiaa on Ain Saleh road
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Customs of Algeria |
Specific Description |
Convoy of Customs officials on Ain Saleh Roads |
Nationality of Target |
Algeria |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
Weapon Details |
The attackers had seized weapons from the convoy after the attack. El Watan newspaper also said authorities confiscated 60 Kalashnikov rifles, 10 rocket-launchers, 20 pistols and seven four-wheel drive vehicles, including three belonging to customs officers when authorities tracked the perpetrators on April 9. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
El Watan reported the attackers had shouted "Allahu akbar" during the attack. The death of the fourteenth customs offices occurred later as the official died from serious injures suffered. The ambush was blamed on a former leader of the GSPC, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who had been sentenced to 20 years in jail in June 2005. --Members of the Mukhtar Bel Mukhtar gang, which is a component of the Salafi Group for Call and Combat radical organization, perpetrated the terrorist act, Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni told El Khabar. --After the attacker fled, witnesses alerted authorities, and they in turn tracked down and killed them on April 9 northeast of Hassi Chebaba in the Ghardaia region. El Watan said ten gunmen were killed. The wounded were moved to Mani'aa city hospital after the security forces arrived at the scene of the incident. --Some sources said the operation might have been planned by Mokhtar Belmokhtar's group as it has been active in the area of the attack. --By April 10, People's National Army unit launched a special operation where they encountered eight 4x4 Toyota vehicles in Hassi Chebaba, 50 km south of Menea, and a large quantity of weapons, an effort in which they claimed to eliminate the remaining group members of the customs officials attack. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
20 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
14 Fatalities / 7 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
14 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
7 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Ooali, Aomar, “Gunmen Kill 13 Customs Agents in Algeria,” Associated Press Online, April 08, 2006. |
“Algerian Security Forces Kill 15 Terrorists After Attack on Customs Officers,” Algiers El-Khabar (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic, April 09, 2006. |
“Thirteen Algerian customs officials killed in ambush: report,” Agence France Presse -- English, April 07, 2006. |
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