Algeria Hostage Planner Reported Killed

Amid the hubbub of Washington politics, the French continue to participate in offensives in North Africa. No one is really paying attention, which is a shame, since, if reports surfacing last week are true, the French have proven to significantly aid US foreign policy in the region.

Chadian troops assisting in the rebuff of militant forces in Mali have claimed to have killed Moktar Belmoktar, a regional rebel leader. Belmoktar has been active in the region for years, and has been continuously linked not just to organized crime, but also al Qaeda. Of course, nothing is taken for granted, as Chadian forces also claimed to have killed another significant regional leader days earlier. Belmoktar shot to infamy as the planner of the raid on the Algerian gas facility in January, which left scores of foreigners dead and nearly ignited the region. France has, in the meantime, taken possession of the bodies and is expected to carry out definitive DNA tests in the coming days. AQIM acknowledged the death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid (the other leader), but strongly denied Belmoktar's loss, insisting he was still alive and fighting. None of this really says anything other than some rebel fighters were killed, not yet at least.

Since his death, Belmoktar's role in regional terrorism may have grown. Sources in recent days are further reporting that Belmoktar received a suspicious phone call after the attack in Benghazi last year that may tie him to that attack. If true (though we may never know), US access to further information about AQIM operations may be weakened with Belmoktar's and Zeid's deaths. At the same time, it will make it easier for the US and the President in particular to put the incident behind them.

So what does it all mean? Not much of anything until more information is known. Clearly the Sahara is not the prime asymmetrical warfare environment that other parts of the Middle East are. Nonetheless, the killing of rebel and al Qaeda leaders elsewhere has resulted in fragmentation, but not dissolution of terrorist cells and organizations. The combination of factors may hinder AQIM operations, but without the continued development of the region's societies and governments, AQIM won't disappear. The biggest question will certainly be - will this be enough for the French, and, if so, will that make a difference when the battles are left solely to the regional forces, who have yet to coalesce into a cohesive bunch.