The US Embassy Bombings 1998: Nairobi and Dar es Salaam

The two terrorist bombings on Aug. 7, 1998 resulted in the deaths of over 220 persons and injuries to more than 4,000 people. Twelve American US Government employees and family members and 40 Kenyan and Tanzanian US Government employees were among those killed. Both chanceries and several other buildings were severely damaged or destroyed. Most of the casualties and damage occurred in Nairobi, where I had lived until two years earlier before moving to Johannesburg. In fact, when my family would go to the embassy in Nairobi to visit the health clinic there, we would park in the same space behind the building where the terrorists detonated their device. When the blasts took place, my editors asked me which of the two cities I could get to fastest from South Africa. I found a South African Airways flight for Dar leaving the next day and took it. The following series of postings reflect my reporting after arriving in the Tanzanian city.

US investigators have begun their probe into the bombing of the American embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. That explosion (on a Friday) killed at least nine people and left more than 70 injured. After my first visit to the blast site, I had this report (on Sunday).

US and Tanzanian officials say they still have no idea who may have been behind the bombing. But suspicion appears to be focused on an embassy-owned water truck as the possible delivery vehicle for what must have been a massive explosive device.

The tanker had apparently just pulled up to the embassy's main gate and was being inspected by Tanzanian security guards when the blast occurred. The guards -- along with the truck driver and his assistant -- are among the dead.

There are no known eyewitnesses to the explosion, and US officials are appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to step forward.

In the meantime, the first group of US investigators has begun examining the rubble around the embassy for clues. Early Sunday they were taking photographs of the site -- including the huge crater left outside the embassy gate by the force of the blast.

A US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, says it was miracle that no one inside the embassy was killed. He says the damage inside was so bad the building may no longer be habitable. He says there are plans to set up a temporary embassy at another site in Dar es Salaam.

The President of Zanzibar, the famed spice island that is now part of Tanzania, visited the blast site Sunday. Salmin Amour called the incident -- the first terrorist attack of its kind in the country's history -- horrible. He pledged the government's full cooperation in the search for those behind the bombing.

Tanzanian police and troops have been deployed in the area around the embassy. US Marines have set up sandbagged machine gun emplacements and razor wire barriers at the main access points to the road outside the building. That road is littered with debris -- ranging from bits of footwear and clothing to auto parts, broken glass and charred leaves. Several other buildings in the immediate vicinity were also severely damaged.

A small group of bystanders gathered outside the barriers to view the devastation. One woman, a teacher who is the wife of an American missionary, says it was a tragic incident, especially for a country that until now had been largely regarded as a peaceful one.

Tanzania's English-language "Sunday Observer" newspaper echoed that sentiment in an editorial. It says the blast demonstrates Tanzanians are not immune to acts of terrorism and that the country's authorities must now become more security conscious.

In Memoriam

EVANS HAYS

A colleague and friend dating back to the mid-1970's has passed away. He will be missed.

Excerpts from my hiking diary:

June 17, 1975
Drove with Evans Hays to Mittenwald via Garmisch. Parked by the train station and hiked east to the beginning of the trail up the West Karwendelspitze. Reached the Mittenwalderhutte in about two hours (1518 meters) and had lunch there. Weather had been overcast with occasional rain. Left the hut by the trail to the WestlicheKarwendelspitze which was steep and rocky. Crossed 5-6 snow banks, encountered sections of wire-fixed-guidelines at narrow trail portions. Overcast prevented seeing the height and steepness. Heavy rain began falling. We debated turning back but pressed on, figuring the summit was nearer than the hut. Trail gave out and we had to hand and foot it up toward the top. Another pair of climbers came along and found the red trail markers. We reached the top of the face and decided to head for the cable car station (2244 meters). Dried off, drank and returned to Mittenwald by cable car. Time from hut to top about two hours.

June 25
Evans and I had planned to go into the Karwendel again to take the Birkarspitze (2749 meters) and stay at the Karwendelhaus. But the folks at the DAV (Deutsche Alpen Verein/German Alpine Society) told us it was snowed in (the peak) and likely hard to surmount. We elected to go to the Falkenhutte where it was also more likey that our DAV temporary receipts (memberships?) would be accepted. Drove via Kochel-Walchensee, turned off on tol l road to Vorderiss, crossed border into Austria to Hinteriss and finally Eng, which was actually just a Gasthaus, kiosk, hotel and a cow farm. Again it was overcast. Laden with full packs we headed up toward the hut. We were both quickly winded (Eng 1218 meters, Falkenhutte 1850 meters). Dirt and gravel path, wet. Approaching the Hochjoch (1795 meters) encountered large snowfield. Down from the joch it began to fog and then rain. Donned sweater, then anorak, finally poncho. Reached hut after three hours, exhausted and wet. Drank, ate, went to sleep early.

June 26
Up at 6:30am, breakfasted, then set off with small packs – apple cider/mineral water ½ & ½, bread, cheese, ham, chocolate. From the hut we went around the base of the Ladizkopfl (1921 meters) and set off up to the peak of the Mahnkopf (2093 meters). It was hot, sunny, extremely bright. A fantastic day. Trail deceptively steep, with occasional snow and snow melt streams. Reached summit in about 1 ½ hours, rested, took lots of photos. Set off downhill over a long snow field. I took out my poncho and used it as a sled. It was slow and of course wet but fun. Headed uphill again toward the Steinspitze (2348 meters). Saw families of Chamois en route, took some long distance photos but without a telephoto. Trail quickly became narrow with vast drop-offs on both sides. Evans flaked out at about 2150 meters and decided to sit it out. Another solo climber had passed us going up so I set out alone behind him. Trail descended into rough and loose rock. Then up, using hands and feet over rock and snow. Came up one face to a level area then quickly up again skirting to the east of the jagged summit via a long upward snowfield. At end of snowfield turned west, up over rock, hand and foot, to small summit. Other climber descended as I climbed the last 15 meters. At top, took photos, including one of DeKalb hat on the rock cairn marking the summit. Descended carefully. Rested and drank with EH. Slowly back to hut and a long rest.

June 27
Left hut early to descend to car via Laliderer Tal (valley). Took about 3 – 3 1/2 hours. We were held up by big bulls whose interest turned from grazing to us. Encountered at least four herds. Apparently missed the bus into Eng, but quickly got a ride in a Saab driven by a German and his wife. Weather again hot and bright but with scattered clouds. Took the long way back (to Munich) via Tegernsee and back roads.

July 2
Planned to go out again with EH but it was raining all day.

(My diary entries don’t reflect any further outings with Evans but then I notice I only put sporadic notes so I can’t rule out other trips with him. In fact I am pretty positive there were more. )

1998 US Embassy Bombings

Coming up soon: my coverage of the 1998 US Embassy bombings in East Africa.

And later, a closer look at the Pentagon's Africa training programs.

All of this right here. Keep checking back.

The Para: Tried, Convicted, Sentenced to Death

In early 2007 came this word from the independent Algerian daily newspaper El Khabar:

130 cases before Algiers court

Infamous terrorists to be tried next month

Algiers criminal court is to start considering suits concerning 131 individuals accused of terrorism related cases. Amari Saifi alias Abderrazak Al-Para is expected to be tried on March 18, Mokhtar Belmokhtar alias Belawar and Hassan Hattab on March 29. The first two were leading members of the former Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC, renamed al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb) and the latter is former chief of the organization.

Then, in May of 2008, this item, linked to an Arabic article in El Khabar, appeared on Long Wars Journal:

An Algerian court has sentenced Amari Saifi, also known as Abderrezak el Para, to death. El Para planned and led the 2003 kidnapping of European tourists in the Algerian Sahara. He was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States. He was eventually captured by Chadian rebels and turned over to the Algerian government.

I have seen no word on whether the sentence has been carried out.

The Para: Questioning Him for the Keys to the Kingdom of al-Qaida?

My reporting on the case of Saifi Ammari, a.k.a. “The Para”, ended with my transfer out of the Pentagon. But I later learned he eventually ended up back in Algeria after Libya dealt with the Chadian rebels who captured him. In November 2004, the Algerian French-language newspaper Le Quotidien d'Oran reported Saifi Ammari would be tried in Algeria. The newspaper had this to report:

“We are naturally interested in questioning El Para but this is an Algerian affair first," a top-level US military source told a news agency in Berlin. For the American military man, Ammari represents an immediate interest to the Americans to the degree that he possesses contacts with Al-Qa'ida's number two man, Ayman Al Zawahiry of Egypt, with whom he reportedly came into contact, via satellite telephone, from the Sahel.

For members of the American military, Abderezak El Para is a "big catch" and thus contradict the statements by the Algerian interior minister, Yazid Nouredine Zerhouni, who referred to the Salafist emir's "reduced interest" in the operational framework: "He doesn't just know many things. He's the key to open up the kingdom. If he decides to speak, he can hand over all the remaining Salafist satellite organizations in Algeria and outside it."

The American military source was thinking in particular of the small groups linked to the GSPC that have grown up in Mali and Niger in recent months. The member of the American military estimated at about "200 members" the GSPC elements who were still active but emphasized welcoming "the fantastic success" of the exfiltration from Chad and the cooperation in the regional antiterrorist fight, notably between Algiers and Tripoli: "It is clear that the Libyans played a decisive role in the negotiations with the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad [MDJT] to hand El Para over to Algeria. They facilitated this task, which indicates the pursuit of Libya's return to the international community and the place the country occupies to fight terrorism."

Regarding the status of the tribunal that will decide the El Para case, the opinions differ on the issue. As a former deputy leader with the Biskra airborne forces, whence the nickname El Para, Ammari could be tried as a former military deserter and because of that would fall under the jurisdiction of a military prosecutor.

Or, according to informed sources, nothing doing. Abderezak El Para really and truly was "demobilized in 1993 and stricken from the National People's Army's [ANP] special forces for disciplinary reasons." It was following that dismissal that, together with Okacha El Para, his former friend, and who was slain this past June in El-Kseur, that he joined the Armed Islamic Group [GIA] maquis in Lakhdaria.On this point, his career has been explained and he was not a "deserter" at the time of the events. And there were many of them.Abderezak El Para directed the strategy of the GIA and then the GSPC, to heavily strike military contingents in particular lethal ambushes in Lower Kabylie and in Batna and Tebessa. He was the first, according to the commando techniques, to train "Katibat Al Khadra," a sort of Pretorian guard, made up of 80 men, which was "the elite" of the GIA's terrorists. Their mission was to ensure the protection of the GIA's national emir, Djamel Zitouni, and then Antar Zouabri, and then the GSPC's Hassan Hattab.

The military training that he got from the paratroopers had helped him to impose himself within the GIA's groups as a "military adviser" to the main emirs. So a civilian jurisdiction is what will try El Para, who will answer for his crimes before civilian magistrates. His past as a soldier is an aggravating circumstance in his case and there is nothing to say that Abderezak El Para might be disposed to collaborate, whether it be opposite a civilian or military jurisdiction.

Chad Rebels, Not Government Troops, Claim To Hold The Para

US officials say they cannot confirm claims by a rebel group in Chad that it is holding a feared North African terrorist and is seeking to turn him over. This report was filed on May 14, 2004.

US officials have felt since earlier this year that Algerian-born terrorist suspect Saifi Amari survived a shoot-out with government forces in Chad.

More than 40 members of his Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat were killed in the clash. A leading Pentagon official indicated at the time the alleged terrorist leader, nicknamed the Para, may have escaped. But his whereabouts remained unknown.

Now, a rebel group called the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad is claiming it has him and is seeking to turn him over -- possibly for a cash payment. US officials say they cannot confirm the group's claim, which has been reported both in Europe and North Africa.

But the New York Times quotes a representative of the Chadian rebels as asserting they have contacted various governments since mid-March, including Algeria, Germany and the United States.

But the talks are reported to have bogged down over the reluctance of foreign officials to offend the government of Chad by dealing with the rebels.

The Para has been a wanted man since last year when his group kidnapped more than 30 European tourists in the Sahara, most of them German. He is reported to have received a substantial ransom for releasing them.

US officials say he used the money to buy military equipment and to build influence with the Salafist group. But US counter-terrorism experts, working with countries in the Sahel region, forced the Para's group on the run earlier this year -- a pursuit that ended with the shoot-out in Chad.

US General: Hunt For Fugitive Salafists Not Over

The top American general overseeing military operations in sub-Saharan Africa says the hunt is continuing for fugitive members of the Salafist terrorist group in the Pan-Sahel region of north-central Africa. I had this report on April 2nd, 2004.

General Charles Wald says he does not know whether the accused Salafist terrorist leader known as the "Para" escaped from a recent shoot-out between his fighters and government troops in Chad.

But in an interview at the Pentagon, the general acknowledges there are still members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat the loose in the Sahel region. The Muslim extremist group, originally based in Algeria, is on the US list of terrorist organizations and has been linked to al Qaida.

General Wald vows they will be pursued until they are killed or captured.

“But there are other Salafist people in that area that we're still pursuing and we'll pursue until we get all of them.”

Government troops in Chad killed more than 40 Salafists in a recent shoot-out that came after the suspected terrorists were driven from hide-outs in the Algeria-Mali border area, forced across Niger and into Chad. The US military is understood to have supported the pursuit with aerial surveillance and other intelligence information along with communications.

But General Wald, a four-star Air Force General who is deputy commander of the US European Command, gives credit to regional authorities for stepping forward to work together and take the fight to the terrorists.

“Mali, Niger and Chad and Mauritania to a certain extent and certainly Algeria and even Tunisia to a little bit now have really stepped up to show in regional way that they're not going to let their sovereign countries be abused by terrorists.”

US Army Special Forces troops recently concluded a counter-terrorism training program with military units in Mali and Mauritania. Forces in Chad and Niger are scheduled to receive similar training later this year under the program, a State Department sponsored plan called the Pan-Sahel initiative. US officials have indicated North Africa countries may eventually be brought into the training effort.

Pentagon Official: The Para Isn’t Dead And May Have Escaped

The Pentagon does not believe a key Algerian terrorist suspect was killed in a shoot-out with government forces in Chad earlier this month. This was my report on March 24, 2004.

Until now, US officials have said they did not know whether Algerian-born Saifi Ammari, also known as Abdarrezak the Para, was killed in the shoot-out in Chad in which more than 40 suspected members of his Salafist Group for Preaching and Combatdied.

But a leading Pentagon military official overseeing US counter-terror training efforts in the Sahel indicates the Para may have escaped.

In a State Department interview, US Army Colonel Vic Nelson is quoted as responding by saying "We do not think so," when asked if the Para died in Chad.

Colonel Nelson confirms the Pentagon's belief that the alleged terrorist leader and his band were pursued across the Sahel region from their bases in the Algeria-Mali border area by various forces in a cooperative effort.

He says, quoting now, the Para was, "on the run from Malian and Algerian forces, ran all the way through Niger, whose security forces picked up his trail and ran him into Chad, whose forces attacked and destroyed elements of his band."

The colonel does not discuss any US role in the pursuit. But other defense sources have previously revealed US forces provided critical aerial surveillance information along with other intelligence and communications in the joint operation.

The blow delivered to the Salafist group in Chad is considered a major success for the State Department sponsored Pan-Sahel Initiative, a counter-terror training program involving Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. US Army Special Forces have just concluded the training effort in Mali and Mauritania. Forces in Chad and Niger are scheduled for similar instruction later this year. Colonel Nelson is the principal Pentagon official overseeing the program for the Defense Department's Office of International Security Affairs.

The Para: Dead? Alive? The Mystery Continues

Mystery surrounded the fate of a notorious al-Qaida-linked North African terrorist caught up in fighting with government troops in Chad four years ago. Here was the latest as of March 16th, 2004.

US officials say it is still uncertain whether a leader of the feared Algerian terrorist organization, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, was killed last week in Chad.

Chadian authorities claim to have killed some 40 suspected members of the group in a two-day gun battle, possibly including Saifi Ammari, a former Algerian soldier nicknamed "the Para," who US officials have described as a leader of growing influence in the Salafist movement.

US officials say Chad's government asked for a photograph of the accused terrorist, apparently to check against the faces of the victims of last week's clash. They say they have not yet heard whether he has been confirmed among the dead.

Mr. Ammari is on both the US and United Nations lists of al-Qaida linked terrorists. He is specifically wanted internationally for his role in the kidnappings last year ofEuropean tourists traveling in the Sahara.

Chad's government says the dead from last week's battle included militants from Algeria, Niger and Mali. Three government soldiers were killed in the operation.

US officials say American military forces played no direct role in the actual fighting, although they provided support in the form of intelligence, communications and reconnaissance.

A senior Chadian official is quoted in a US military report as saying the engagement led to the discovery and seizure of five trucks, each equipped with heavy machine-guns along with a cache of rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 automatic rifles, mortars and ammunition.

US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicate the alleged terrorist group led by Mr. Ammari had been tracked across the Sahara from its bases in the Algeria-Mali border area. US Special Operations forces have been training soldiers in Mali and Mauritania in counter-terrorist tactics in a State Department sponsored program called the Pan-Sahel Initiative. The training in those two countries ends this month. It will continue later this year in Chad and Niger.

In the meantime, the US military has delivered more than 19 (metric) tons of aid to Chad, including food, blankets and medical supplies. Chad requested the assistance for troops wounded in the fighting as well as to support futureanti-terrorist missions.

The US Delivers Support To Chad Troops After Battle With Terrorists

The US military delivered food, medical supplies and other assistance to Chad, to support government troops who in March 2004 battled suspected terrorists linked to al-Qaida. I had this report on March 15th that year.

Two C-130 Hercules cargo planes have delivered more than 19 (metric) tons of aid to Chad, including food, blankets and medical supplies.

The rush mission was ordered by the US military's European Command, following a request from the government of Chad.

That request came after government troops in the African country battled fighters of the al-Qaida linked Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat in northern Chad near the border with Niger.

Chadian officials have said 43 alleged terrorists were killed, nine of them Algerians with the other fatalities from Mali and Niger. At least four militants were captured.

A senior Chadian official is quoted in a US military statement as saying the engagement led to the discovery and seizure of five trucks, each equipped with heavy machine-guns along with a cache of rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 automatic rifles, mortars and ammunition.

The official (Governor Hassane Djangbei) also reports the alleged terrorists had satellite telephones and global positioning devices. He says unspecified documents were seized after the battle.

The official thanked the United States for the supplies, delivered Saturday to an airfield at Faya-Largeau, 600 kilometers south of the site of the fighting. He says the aid will be used in part to help soldiers injured in the battle as well as the overall Chadian government effort to fight terrorism.

Three government soldiers were killed and 18 wounded in the two-day battle. US officials have said no American ground troops were involved. But they say US forces provided surveillance information, other intelligence and communications that assisted in the successful interception of the alleged terrorists.

The armed group, led by a former Algerian soldier named Saifi Ammari and nicknamed "the Para," had apparently fled from the Algeria-Mali border area and crossed Niger into Chad when it was caught. The group had been blamed for the kidnappings last year of European tourists in the Sahara.

The United States has been training government troops in counter-terrorist tactics in Mali and Mauritania. Similar training will be carried out in Chad and Niger later this year.

Score One For Chad With An Assist From A P-3 Orion; But Did They Get “The Para”?

In 2004, US military experts provided critical support as security forces in the African country of Chad clashed with members of a predominantly-Algerian, al-Qaida-linked terrorist group, dealing it a possibly crippling blow. I had this report on March 12 that year.

US officials say a Navy P-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft played a key role in guiding troops in Chad to a remote area in the country's far north, close to the border with Niger.

There, in two days of fighting this week, 43 suspected members of the feared Algerian terrorist movement known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat were killed. Chad's government says the dead include militants from Algeria, Niger and Mali. Five men were captured, including one man from Chad.

Three government soldiers were killed in the operation, in which US officials say American troops played no direct role in the actual fighting, only support in the form of intelligence, communications and reconnaissance.

The US officials, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity, indicate the group, led by a former Algerian soldier named Saifi Ammari and nicknamed "the Para," had been tracked across the Sahara from its bases in the Algeria-Mali border area. They say they are attempting to confirm whether "the Para" was among those killed in the shoot-out in Chad.

The officials say it is hard to determine whether the clash has dealt a fatal blow to the Salafist terror group. But one military source says, it's fair to say the group's numbers have been "significantly decreased."

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher congratulated the government of Chad on the successful mission.

“I think it shows that foreign governments can operate successfully against terrorists and that's the key to defeating terrorists worldwide.”

The incident marks the biggest publicized success in an otherwise largely clandestine US-led counter-terrorist operation in the Sahara region.

That operation has primarily consisted of intelligence-sharing and surveillance on the US side, with local security forces providing on-the-ground combat assets.

But previously, I reported US forces considered a possible air strike against "the Para" and his Salafist militants.

US Special Operations forces have been training soldiers in Mali and Mauritania in counter-terrorist tactics in a State Department sponsored program called the Pan-Sahel Initiative. The training in those two countries ends this month. It will continue later this year in Chad and Niger.

US officials indicate the training program may eventually be expanded to include Algeria and other North African countries.

Al-Qaida in Africa: General Wald And The Algerian Connection

More details emerged in early 2004 about al-Qaida's terrorist presence in Africa and the growing engagement of the US military in counter-terrorist activities with government forces in Northern and Western parts of the continent. I had this report on March 10, 2004.

A senior US military commander says American forces are working, as he puts it, "heavily" with Algerian troops in the war on terrorism.

The senior official is General Charles Wald, Deputy Commander of the US European Command, which is responsible for military activities in most of Africa. He was speaking this week in Washington in a roundtable discussion with a select group of reporters.

General Wald gives few details of the extent of US cooperation with Algeria other than to say, quoting now, "we have every intention in the world to help them where we can." He says the assistance might not always be with actual US troop deployments but with information sharing.

Military officials say there are no US troops in Algeria at present. But General Wald forecasts increased military cooperation in the future and notes Algeria's defense chief and others from North Africa and the Sahel region will visit the European Command in Stuttgart, Germany later this month (March 22) for talks.

General Wald recently concluded a week-long, 11-country trip through Africa which he says included two stops in Algeria -- Algiers and Tamanrasset, a town in southern Algeria close to the border with Mali, where terrorists linked to al-Qaida have been active. Those terrorists are members of a group called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. US officials have voiced concern about the group's activities.

But General Wald says al-Qaida itself, in his words, "has an interest in North Africa" and he says "They have an interest in the Sahel area, definitely." He says al-Qaida's interest may even extend to illegal diamond-trafficking out of Sierra Leone as a funding source for its terrorist operations. He calls the group's interest in North and West Africa "a bad signal."

Still, General Wald says the unfolding US effort to cooperate militarily with African countries in the war against terrorism is paying off. He says the two 200-man Special Operations teams engaged in counter-terrorism training in Mali and Mauritania have already enjoyed what he terms a "huge payback." He says there have been, quoting now, "some successes in real terms" resulting from the training, but declines to give any details.

The training is part of a State Department program called the Pan Sahel Initiative. It is ending in Mali and Mauritania this month but will resume later in the year in Chad and Niger.

There was a report last week in a Malian newspaper (Bamako Info-Matin) alleging that the presence of US troops involved in the counter-terror training in the northern town of Gao had caused frustration among the local Muslim population. US officials have dismissed the charges, asserting there is no evidence to support them.

Next: The US provides critical support as Chadian forces take on the Salafists.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff General: New Options For Tackling Terrorists Like “The Para” in Africa

A senior US military commander indicates the Pentagon may be considering possible new options for tackling “The Para” and other terrorist probles in the desert wastelands of West Africa. I filed this report from the Pentagon on Mar. 9. 2004.

Leading Generals of the US military's European Command have traveled recently in West Africa and have voiced fresh concern about terrorist activities, especially in the Sahel region.

Asked about those expressions of concern, General Peter Pace, the number two man in the US Armed Forces, declined to specify what actions the Pentagon may be contemplating to tackle the terrorist problem there.

But the Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff indicates to Pentagon reporters that various new options may be under consideration.

“I'm not going to get into specifically what we will or won't do about terrorists in Africa other than to say that when you lay out the mosaic, it becomes apparent those that are current threats to the US and those you need to do things about and then we go about giving options to the Secretary [Rumsfeld] to do something about it.”

Other US officials have told me recently American concern over terrorist activity in the deserts of West Africa is linked in part to the growing influence of Algerian-born terrorist Saifi Ammari, nicknamed the "para," a reference to his reported service in a parachute unit in Algeria's armed forces.

According to these officials, Mr. Ammari has been operating with small mobile armed groups in areas along the Algerian-Malian border that are outside of government control. They say he has also been recruiting among potential Muslim supporters in Mauritania, Niger and Libya.

Mr. Ammari is a member of the feared Algerian terrorist organization known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. Mr. Ammari and the group are on the United Nation's list of al-Qaida related individuals and organizations.

US officials say American interest in his activities has been heightened because, in the words of one official, "he seems to be watching our security efforts closely."

Defense sources have previously indicated there has been intelligence-sharing with Algeria but a spokesperson for the US military's European Command says there are at present no American troops in Algeria. US military trainers are however working with Malian forces and other troops in the Sahel to improve their counter-terrorist capabilities.

Next: Al-Qaida's interest in Africa.

Hunting “The Para” --- Target Of That Air Strike The US Military Considered

US concern over terrorist activity in the desert wastelands of West Africa is linked in part to the growing influence of an Algerian-born guerrilla considered a threat to American security interests. I had this exclusive report on March 2nd, 2004 from the Pentagon.

The suspected terrorist at the center of the latest US concern in the Sahel region is Saifi Ammari, nicknamed “the Para," a reference to his reported service in a parachute unitin Algeria's armed forces.

According to US officials, Mr. Ammari has been operating with small mobile armed groups in areas along the Algerian-Malian border that are outside of government control. But the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say he has been recruiting among potential Muslim supporters in other neighboring countries, including Mauritania, Niger and Libya.

They say his influence has been growing due to his increased resources --- a reference to funds his group is believed to have received as ransom payments for the kidnappings last year of some 30 European tourists, most of them German. They say Mr. Ammari's growing strength could position him to take control of the feared Algerian terrorist organization known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.

Mr. Ammari and the group are on the United Nation's list of al-Qaida related individuals and organizations. The United States added Mr. Ammari's name to its global terrorist list last December, soon after the UN action. Germany has issued a warrant for his arrest.

But US officials say American interest has been heightened because, in the words of one official, "he seems to be watching our security efforts closely."

Defense sources have previously indicated there has been intelligence-sharing with Algeria, and the State Department calls counter-terrorism a key area of US-Algerian cooperation. US military trainers have also been working with Malian forces and other troops in the Sahel to improve their counter-terrorist capabilities.

I reported last week that consideration was given on at least one occasion recently to a possible US aerial bombing mission against a terrorist target in the Algerian-Malian border area. The mission, apparently aimed at Mr. Ammari, was scrapped because officials say the target could not be confirmed, and there was concern about risking civilian casualties.

A State Department spokesperson subsequently told me the bombing mission was canceled because it was considered a "crazy" idea.

But defense sources have indicated bombing remains a viable option.

Three senior US military officials recently traveled in West Africa. One of them, Air Force General Charles Wald, the deputy commander of the US military's European Command, was quoted by reporters as saying the terrorist threat in Africa is growing,not weakening. He also said al-Qaida cells under pressure elsewhere may be seeking new havens in Africa.

Note: Two years later my stories on Ammari as well as US counter-terrorist efforts in the Sahel, including consideration of an air strike, perhaps my most controversial report, were validated by another reporter who had travelled in West Africa. Raffi Khatchadourian’s two-part article appeared in the Village Voice and can be read here. Ammari’s Interpol “wanted” poster can be seen here. One minor quibble: as you can see from the Interpol information, his family name is Ammari, as I reported, and not Saifi.

The Generals Tour Africa

Three senior US generals have been traveling in Africa in recent days in an unusual display of military interest that appears linked at least in part to anti-terrorism efforts on the continent. More in this report from Feb. 26, 2004:

Nearly half of the countries in the US European Command's area of responsibility are in Africa. Now, Pentagon officials confirm General James Jones, commander of the European Command, has just visited the continent, traveling last week to Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

His deputy, General Charles Wald, is in Africa now on a trip that is taking him to Algeria, Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa.

And the European Command's director of planning, Major General Charles Kohler, has been visiting Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria on a separate journey.

Pentagon officials say the trips are evidence of what they call "the vital importance" of Africa to the overall international security environment. They say the Defense Department is committed to what they term "robust engagement" -- including military-to-military exchanges intended to enhance cooperation, especially in the global war on terrorism.

Among the major counter-terrorism efforts is the Pan-Sahel Initiative, in which four West African countries are receiving training and some logistical support. The program with Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger is designed to enhance border protection and the ability of security forces to track the movement of people, especially in the remote desert frontier regions of the Sahara.

General Kohler, the planning director for the European Command, was recently quoted [by "Stars and Stripes" newspaper] as saying the United States does not want such desolate areas, in his words, "to turn into another Afghanistan." He said as terrorist cells were uprooted from Afghanistan and elsewhere, they shifted to Africa, which General Kohler called an easy backdoor to Europe.

I reported earlier this week that the US military has considered air strikes against targets in a suspected terrorist safe haven in the desert wastelands of West Africa. Cooperation in combating terrorism also led to a combined operation last month, which saw Malian troops force a suspected terrorist weapons convoy loaded with arms, ammunition and communications gear across the border into Algeria, where Algerian forces successfully intercepted it. Pentagon officials would not discuss the extent of US involvement in that mission. The weapons convoy was linked to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. The terrorist group is suspected of involvement in the kidnapping last year of European tourists traveling in the Sahara Desert.

Next: Hunting “The Para”

Scoop: The US Weighs Air Strikes On Suspected Terrorists In Mali --- More Than Just Training

The US military has considered air strikes against targets in a suspected terrorist safe haven in the desert wastelands of West Africa. I had this exclusive report in late February 2004.

The border area between Algeria and Mali is remote and official comment on anti-terrorist activities there is rare.

But I have learned US involvement in a crackdown on al-Qaida linked armed groups in the desert region has taken on new dimensions, in part out of concern terrorist leaders forced from other countries may have sought refuge there.

Defense officials say the United States has been sharing intelligence with Algeria and has deployed counter-insurgency specialists in Mali. One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, says there was a recent instance when US personnel in Mali called for a US air strike against a suspected terrorist facility.

It is not clear whether the proposed target was a suspected training camp or possibly a terrorist arms convoy. But the official says the proposed bombing mission was scrapped because the target could not be confirmed. The military official says commanders did not want to risk innocent civilian casualties.

Another defense official says such bombing missions remain an active option.

The previously-undisclosed cooperation has already begun to show results. A combined operation last month saw Malian troops force a suspected terrorist weapons convoy loaded with arms, ammunition, and communications gear across the border into Algeria, where Algerian forces successfully intercepted it.

Pentagon officials would not discuss the extent of US involvement in that mission.

Until now, it appeared the only US assistance in the region was counter-terrorist training for select West Africa countries, including Mali. A senior Malian defense official last week confirmed the presence of trainers in his country. But the official said no US troops were in the field engaged in actual anti-terrorist operations.

However, defense officials have confirmed the US troops in Mali are elite Special Operations forces. They say these soldiers could be tasked with actual field missions on an as-needed basis.

Mali is among the African countries which have offered the Pentagon access to airfields and other facilities for use as possible temporary military operating locations. A key regional terrorist group US officials are concerned about is the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. The group is suspected of involvement in the kidnapping last year of European tourists traveling in the Sahara Desert. A warning issued in December by the State Department advised against travel to Mali's northern regions. The warning said the area has become what was termed "a safe haven" for the Salafist Group.

Next: Coincidence? Three senior US generals tour Africa.