Homeward bound - AQIM fails to strike Western Europe

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has repeatedly threatened the West since it adopted the Al-Qaeda brand in January 2007, but has yet to strike. This may initially seem surprising, particularly as the Algerian jihadists have traditionally enjoyed the support of radical diaspora networks in Europe.

While North Africa's emergence as an alternative to Pakistan's tribal areas (where aspirant jihadists can train and fight) might have seemed inevitable in 2007, several factors have prevented this from happening. The Algerians have contained the operations of the insurgency to a relatively small area east of Algiers, while European security forces have neutralised many North African jihadist support networks. Moreover, despite AQIM's propaganda offensive, other conflict zones such as Afghanistan seem to be more attractive destinations for aspirant jihadists than Algeria, where there are no non-Muslim soldiers to fight.