A new Algerian armed group stated that it has separated itself from al-Qaida and declared its obedience and loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The group, which calls itself "Soldiers of the Caliphate in Algeria," was previously allied with al-Qaida's North African branch. In a statement released on Sunday, a regional commander of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said he broke away from the group, accusing it of "deviating from the true path." Gouri Abdelmalek, nom de guerre Khaled Abu Suleimane, claimed leadership of the splinter group, and was joined by an AQIM commander of an eastern region in Algeria. "You have men in the Islamic Maghreb; if you order them, they will obey you," Suleimane said in reference to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-claimed caliph of the ISIS group.
Before the "Soldiers of the Caliphate in Algeria" declared its obedience, another Algerian group "Those who sign in Blood" had pledged allegiance to ISIS. "The new group will try hard to make some noise, but it will be very difficult to execute big terrorist actions as Algerian security forces have knocked out most of the armed groups in Algeria," security analyst Anis Rahmani told Reuters news agency.
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