Washington, Oct 28 (IANS) The United States has re-designated Algerian-based group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an Islamist militia that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state, as a foreign terrorist organisation.
In the five years since its last review in 2004, AQIM, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, has conducted numerous suicide bombings and other lethal attacks that have killed or wounded hundreds in Northern Africa, the State Department said Tuesday.

The most lethal attack to date occurred on Dec 11, 2007, when two nearly simultaneous suicide operations attacked both a United Nations programme headquarters and the Algerian Constitutional Council, killing 42 people, including 17 UN employees, and wounding 158 others.

Noting that AQIM has broadened its area of operations outside of Algeria with increasing attacks in northern Mali, Niger, and Mauritania, the State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly said as recently as last August, it attacked the French Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, wounding three.

“AQIM claimed responsibility for the June 2009 murder of an American NGO worker in Nouakchott, and the May 2009 murder of a British hostage in northern Mali. In December 2008, AQIM seized two Canadian diplomats working for the UN in Niger,” Kelly said.

The group has declared its intention to attack Algerian, French, and American targets. Besides the US, it has been similarly classed as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

“Terrorist designations play an important role in disrupting funding channels for al Qaida and other terrorist groups, including the Al Qaeda affiliates in different parts of the world.” said Coordinator for Counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin.

“They also send a message to other governments and financial institutions around the world of our determination to keep the pressure on these groups. They form an important element in creating joint efforts to limit the reach and capabilities of such terrorist organizations,” he said.