Al-Qaeda attempt to kidnap nurse fails

On Monday, the people of Ath Yaklef village in Bouira province, 160km south east Algiers, were able to thwart an attempt made by five members of al-Qaeda to kidnap a nurse from a clinic, according to a local security source. The assailants were armed with Kalashnikovs and were wearing military uniform, the source said. However, both the victim and his family screamed for the neighbours’ help in resisting the terrorists who arrived at the village at 8 in the morning. The attackers then escaped into the surrounding forests in a white car with Boumerdès plates numbered “35”. The security source ruled out suggestions that the attackers only wanted to steal medicine from the clinic, pointing out that it would have been easier merely to break into the clinic rather than kidnapping the nurse. The source suggested the militants’ aim was to carry out the kidnapping quietly in order to avoid drawing the attention of security forces, so that the tribal area chosen by the organisation, run by Abdelmalek Droukdel, would remain a suitable hideout for them. This area was originally chosen as their headquarters because of its rugged terrain, heavy forests and rough mountains after they had been surrounded by the army in different areas.