Algerian security forces arrest AQIM leader

Security forces in the Algerian state of Bouira have confirmed the arrest of Saleh Qasemi Makney, commonly known as Mohammed Abu Salah, one of the senior leaders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Local officers were alerted to Saleh's presence in the al-Shorafa area, and they managed to arrest him inside a popular restaurant. Saleh, a leading figure in AQIM is the right-hand man of organisation leader Abdelmalek Droudkel. He is in-charge of the media department of AQIM and was recently responsible for drafting and sending details of terrorist plots to jihadist websites and satellite television channels. The 38-year old, from the city of Biskra, was behind the original Salafist Group which later became known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.