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Abdelkrim al-Targui

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Abdelkrim al-Targui
Birth nameHamada Ag Hama
Bornc. 1970
Kidal, Mali
DiedMay 18, 2015
Tigharghar mountains, Kidal Region, Mali
Allegiance AQIM (2010-2015)
Service / branchKatiba Al Ansar
RankEmir (Katiba Al Ansar)
Known forKidnapping of several French nationals
Battles / warsInsurgency in the Sahel
Mali War

Hamada Ag Hama, also known as Abdelkrim Taleb or Abdelkrim al-Targui was a Malian jihadist and emir of Katiba Al Ansar, a brigade in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Biography

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Targui was born in Kidal, and is a cousin of Iyad Ag Ghaly.[1][2] In the 1990s, he joined the Dawa, an Islamist sect, and got in contact with the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) a few years later. He joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in 2010.[1] In AQIM, he was initially under the orders of Abou Zeid, but as increased numbers of Tuareg fighters joined AQIM and did not want to be commanded by an Algerian, Targui became the leader of the newly created Katiba Al Ansar.[3][4]

On June 30, 2010, Targui ambushed a convoy of Algerian soldiers at Tinzaouaten near the Malian border. Eleven gendarmes were killed in the attack, and a customs officer was captured and executed.[5] Captured Tunisian AQIM militant Bechir Bessoun testified that Michel Germaneau, a French hostage, was personally executed by Targui in the Tigharghar mountains of Adrar des Ifoghas. The execution of Germaneau was carried out under the orders of Djamel Okacha and Zeid in retaliation for a Franco-Mauritanian ambush on AQIM in the battle of Akla.[6]

Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic were kidnapped by Targui's Katiba Al Ansar on November 24, 2011.[7][8] In March 2013, Verdon was executed by Targui, and his body was found that July. MNLA fighters stated his body was found in Adrar Tigharghar following the battle of Tigharghar.[9][10] Targui's associate Sedane Ag Hita kidnapped Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon on November 2, 2013, and were executed by Katiba Al Ansar shortly afterward.[11][4] Lazarevic was released by AQIM in 2014 in exchange for two relatives of Targui captured by French forces; Haiba Ag Acherif and Mohamed Ali Ag Wadoussene.[11]

Targui was located near Boghassa by French intelligence in 2015. On May 16, 2015, he left a meeting where ten jihadists were gathered and traveled with Ibrahim Ag Inawalen and two bodyguards.[12] Their vehicle was ambushed by French forces on the night between May 17 and 18, and were all killed in a shootout with French forces in the Tigharghar mountains.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Qui sont les deux jihadistes abattus par l'armée française au Mali?". RFI (in French). 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  2. ^ "Le sort des otages français au Mali passe au second plan". Slate Afrique (in French). 2012-04-05. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  3. ^ "Journalistes tués au Mali : "La revendication d'Aqmi masque un ratage"". Franceinfo (in French). 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  4. ^ a b "MALI. Aqmi revendique l'assassinat des deux journalistes de RFI". L'Obs (in French). 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  5. ^ "Aqmi exécute un douanier retenu en otage depuis deux mois - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  6. ^ "French hostage 'executed' after raid on al-Qaeda base". France 24. 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. ^ "Enlèvements au Mali : la piste Aqmi croise celle des ex-combattants touaregs de Kadhafi - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. ^ "Mali : Aqmi derrière l'enlèvement des deux Français". Le Point (in French). 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  9. ^ à 13h57, Par Le 18 juillet 2013 (2013-07-18). "Otages au Mali : Philippe Verdon a été "assassiné d'une balle dans la tête"". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Philippe Verdon a-t-il été retrouvé par des éléments du MNLA?". RFI (in French). 2013-07-27. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  11. ^ a b "Mali: ces Touaregs qui ont choisi le jihad". RFI (in French). 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  12. ^ "Sahel : sur la piste des jihadistes… comment Barkhane traque Ag Ghaly, Belmokhtar et les autres - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  13. ^ "Mali: des chefs jihadistes tués dans le Nord par des soldats français". Le Point (in French). 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
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