Salafeyah group in Algeria announces killing of a senior leader

The al-Salafeyah Group For Call And Fighting in Algeria announced the killing of one of its main leaders in clashes with the security forces.

It said in a statement on an Islamic web site dated January 28 that Ahmad Zarabib was killed near Bajaya city east of Algeria on Tuesday evening, recently, but it did not specify the week when he was killed.

The statement added that Zarabib, known as Sheikh Ahmad Abi al-Bara, one of the founder of the organization and its mufti, was killed in a clash with the Algerian army, while the Algerian authorities have not commented on the news yet.

The al-Salafeyah Group For Call And The Fighting is enlisted on the American terrorist list groups. It announced alliance with al-Qaida.

However, many of its leaders surrendered themselves in 2005 in order to make use of a pardoning project launched by the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika. Those included one of al-Salafeyah co-founder Hassan Hattab who said in a press interview he will help in convincing the ones who are still fighting in the mountains to give up violence.