ISIS Claims Algeria Border Attack

This undated hand out picture released by Norway's energy group Statoil on January 17, 2013 shows vehicles parked at the In Amenas gas field, jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach, in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border. AFP Photo / Statoil / Kjeitil Alsvik
This undated hand out picture released by Norway's energy group Statoil on January 17, 2013 shows vehicles parked at the In Amenas gas field, jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach, in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border. AFP Photo / Statoil / Kjeitil Alsvik
TT
20

ISIS Claims Algeria Border Attack

This undated hand out picture released by Norway's energy group Statoil on January 17, 2013 shows vehicles parked at the In Amenas gas field, jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach, in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border. AFP Photo / Statoil / Kjeitil Alsvik
This undated hand out picture released by Norway's energy group Statoil on January 17, 2013 shows vehicles parked at the In Amenas gas field, jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach, in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border. AFP Photo / Statoil / Kjeitil Alsvik

The ISIS terrorist group said on Tuesday that it was behind Sunday’s attack on an Algerian military barracks near the country’s border with Mali that killed one soldier.

The militant group sent the bomber in a vehicle rigged with explosives, but a sentry stopped him before he could enter the compound and the blast killed both men, according to a Defense Ministry statement. The group’s Algerian leader is a 47-year-old militant known as Abu Walid el-Sahrawi.

“The martyred brother Omar al-Ansari ... entered the base and exploded his car against them,” the group said in a statement.

Algeria, in common with other countries in the Sahel and Sahara regions, is growing increasingly concerned about the risk of militant groups taking advantage of the escalating conflict in Libya and chaos in Mali to expand their presence.

In Mali, the government has said it is ready to talk with militant groups in the hope of ending an insurgency that has made swathes of the country ungovernable and stoked ethnic violence.

In Libya, chaos in parts of the country since the 2011 revolution has created space for ISIS, which launched a cross-border attack against a Tunisian town in 2016, but which is now mostly active in Libya’s south.

“We need to focus on both Libya and Mali,” a former Algerian counter-terrorism officer told Reuters. “This attack could be a preparation for what might come if we don’t contain the threats.”

Algiers has been discussing how to stem the rising militant threat in the Sahel with Mali in recent days, and has offered it some humanitarian assistance. It shares more than 1,500km of mostly remote, desert border with Mali and Libya.

Sunday’s attack was the first in Algeria for several years. In 2013, a militant group linked to al Qaeda staged an attack on the Tiguentourine gas processing facility in southern Algeria that killed dozens of people, including foreigners.

That was the deadliest spasm of militant violence in Algeria since a 1990s civil war between radical groups and the state in which more than 200,000 people died.

Algeria is already wrestling with a major political crisis after a year of mass protests that helped oust the veteran president and have continued, with demonstrators now demanding the ruling elite be fully replaced.

The country also faces economic problems, with declining energy sales contributing to a fall in state revenue and planned cuts in public spending this year.



AFP Appeals for Evacuation of Freelance Staff from Gaza

Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
TT
20

AFP Appeals for Evacuation of Freelance Staff from Gaza

Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
Smoke rises during Israeli strikes amid the Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo

Agence France-Presse called on Israel on Tuesday to allow the immediate evacuation of its freelance contributors and their families from the Gaza Strip, citing worsening living conditions and escalating risks to their safety.

In a statement, the French news agency said its freelancers faced an "appalling situation" in Gaza. A 21-month war with Israel has devastated the territory, since Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023.

"For months, we have been witnessing, powerless, the dramatic deterioration of their living conditions," AFP said, adding that the situation had become untenable despite the "exemplary courage, professional commitment and resilience" of its local team.

The management statement came after AFP's journalists' association issued its own statement saying colleagues in Gaza risked dying of hunger.

AFP said it had succeeded in evacuating eight staff members and their families from Gaza between January and April 2024, after months of effort. It is now seeking to secure safe passage for its freelance Palestinian reporters, despite "the extreme difficulty of leaving a territory under strict blockade".

According to Reuters, Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza since October 7, 2023. AFP said the work of its Palestinian freelancers remained crucial to informing the world, but said they now had to leave because of the risk to their lives.

Reuters also works with freelance journalists in Gaza.

"Reuters is deeply concerned about the health and safety of its freelancers in Gaza, with whom we are in daily contact. The extreme difficulty sourcing food is leading to their and all Gaza residents experiencing greater levels of hunger and illness," a Reuters spokesperson said. "We are providing our contributors with additional financial support to help them and, should they wish to leave the territory, we will provide any assistance possible to help them get out."