Alternative Names:
Islamic State Algeria, ISA, Jund al-Khilafa, Jound al-Khalifah fi Ard al-Jazayer, Djound Al-Khalifa, Soldiers of the Caliphate of Algeria
Location:
Algeria, Tunisia
Leadership:
ISA was founded in September 2014 by Abdulmalik Suleiman Abu Gori (Gouri Abdelmalek). In December 2014, Gouri was killed by Algerian military forces. Several other ISA commanders were killed in a subsequent military raid roughly five months later.
Origins:
ISA is a splinter group from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its leader Abu-Bakr al Baghdadi.
Major Attacks:
April 2014: Jund al-Khilafa ambushed an Algerian military convoy, which killed 11 personnel.
September 2014: ISA captured and beheaded a French hostage, Herve Gourdel.
Ideological Roots:
The group traces its ideological roots to the Salafi movement, which is an ultra-conservative reform movement within Sunni Islam.
Objectives:
ISA’s radical ideology is consistent with that of ISIS. ISA seeks to topple the government of Algeria and replace it with an Islamic caliphate under Sharia law.
Tactics:
Firearm attacks, low-intensity bombings, and kidnapping.
Updated on January 15, 2016.
