WoT Al Qaeda affiliate claims Ivory Coast beach resort attack

[Housecarl]

Figured this deserved it's own thread....Prayers for the victims.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.france24.com/en/20160313-aqim-qaeda-ivory-coast-attack

Al Qaeda affiliate claims Ivory Coast beach resort attack

© Sia Kambou, AFP | An emergency worker carries a young boy who was injured during an attack on the beach at the hotel Etoile du Sud in Grand Bassam on March 13, 2016

Video by FRANCE 24
Text by FRANCE 24 Follow france24_en on twitter
Latest update : 2016-03-14

Al Qaeda’s North African affiliate claimed Sunday’s deadly attack by heavily armed gunmen on the Ivory Coast beach resort of Grand-Bassam, in which at least 16 people were killed, US-based monitors said.

In a message posted on its Telegram channels, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said three of its “heroes” had stormed the Grand-Bassam resort, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

One witness also told AFP that they heard one of the assailants shouting “Allahu Akbar” – Arabic for “God is greatest” during the deadly assault.

The attack, which targeted three hotels popular among westerners about 40 km (25 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan, resulted in the deaths of 14 civilians and two special forces troops, President Alassane Ouattara said. Ivory Coast’s president also informed the press Sunday that six gunmen had been “neutralised”.

Ivory Coast Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said foreign citizens from France, Germany, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon were among the victims. He also told state television that authorities were in possession of a mobile phone they hoped would prove a valuable lead in finding those responsible for the attack.

"It was truly, truly, terrifying, it was indeed terrorists,” eyewitness Marie-Claire Yapi, who was separated from her nine-month old baby and her sister in the chaos, told FRANCE 24. “Someone said to me: 'Run, this is serious – they are killing everyone.' The people who were there told us that once these men started speaking in Arabic, at that moment they thought that it was terrorists.

>>> For more on the attack, read our coverage of the day's events.

‘A war between AQIM and France’

Wassim Nasr, FRANCE 24’s expert on jihadi movements, said that the attack should be considered part of the group’s war against the West, especially France.

“We should look at this as a war between jihadi groups – especially Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – and France,” he said. “They target wherever they see French interests, or French or [other] Western citizens. They are trying to export their war to Western Africa. So I suspect that more attacks will happen in this region.”

‘A war between AQIM and France’

The deadly assault bore grim similarities to other recent attacks in West Africa. Barely two months ago, Islamists killed dozens of people in a hotel and café frequented by foreigners in neighbouring Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou. Gunmen also attacked a hotel in the Malian capital Bamako late last year.

Both of those attacks were also claimed by AQIM and raised concern that militants were extending their reach far beyond their traditional zones of operation in the Sahara and the arid Sahel region.

Though previously untouched by Islamist violence, Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa’s largest economy and the world’s top cocoa producer, has long been considered a target for militants.

International condemnation

As the scale of the tragedy become evident, regional and world leaders expressed their support for Ivory Coast, which has recently emerged from a decade of political turmoil and civil war to become one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

France’s President François Hollande denounced the shootings in the former French colony as a “cowardly attack.”

“France will bring its logistical support and intelligence to Ivory Coast to find the attackers. It will pursue and intensify its cooperation with its partners in the fight against terrorism,” he said in a statement.

President Macky Sall of Senegal, another country considered a likely target for AQIM, called upon West African countries to step up their cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)

Date created : 2016-03-13

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For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://abc7news.com/news/6-armed-men-shoot-beachgoers-at-3-ivory-coast-hotels/1244036/

6 armed men shoot beachgoers at 3 Ivory Coast hotels

AP-Updated 8 mins ago


ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- At least six armed men attacked beachgoers outside three hotels Sunday in Grand-Bassam, sending tourists fleeing through the historic Ivory Coast resort town. Bloody bodies were sprawled on the beach in photos apparently taken at the scene and posted on social media.

Ivory Coast's government said security forces have "neutralized" the six attackers on three hotels, and said that security sweeps are being carried out.

Officials did not say immediately how many were killed or injured.

"A detailed toll will be communicated in the coming hours," State Minister Hamed Bakayoko said in the statement. "We urge the public to remain calm."

The bursts of gunfire sent people running from the beach at Grand-Bassam, a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular destination for Ivorians and foreigners about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial center. It was the third major attack on a tourism center in a West African country since November.

"We don't know where they came from, and we don't know where they've gone," said a receptionist at the Etoile de Sud hotel in Grand-Bassam. Everyone in the hotel was safe, and gendarmerie were present, he said. He would not give his name.

Beachgoers could be seen lining up with their hands above their heads as they filed out of the area. Residents who heard the gunfire hid in their homes, said Josiane Sekongo, 25, who lives across from one of the many beachfront hotels.

An American embassy delegation was in Grand-Bassam on Sunday, but the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan said it is monitoring the situation and has no evidence U.S. citizens were targeted, nor confirmed reports that any were harmed.

Dozens of people were killed in the earlier attacks on West African tourist sites, starting with a siege at a Malian hotel in November and then an assault on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso in January. Analysts have warned for months that Ivory Coast, which shares a border with both of those affected countries, could be hit by jihadists as well. The West African attacks indicate that extremist attacks are spreading from North Africa, where a beach attack in June killed 38 people in Tunisia.

"I have always said that Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Dakar (Senegal) are the next targets for jihadist groups because these two countries represent windows of France in Africa," said Lemine Ould M. Salem, an expert on al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and author of a book "The Bin Laden of the Sahara."

He said the attackers could be from Moktar Belmoktar's al-Mourabitoun, but that Boko Haram should not be ruled out. The Nigeria-based Boko Haram pledged to the Islamic State last year

The Latest on the beach attack in Ivory Coast (all times local):

7:07 p.m.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara confirms that two special forces were killed in the attacks, in addition to the 14 civilians and six assailants.

6:58 p.m.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara says that 14 civilians and six assailants have been killed when the armed men attacked beachgoers and three hotels in Grand-Bassam.

Ouattara is in the town and says he is visiting the different hotels to express condolences and salute security forces for their quick responses.

___

6:45 p.m.


A hotel owner says at least one person was killed at his hotel, and a reporter saw four dead bodies on a beach in Ivory Coast's historic southeastern town of Grand-Bassam.

The four bodies were sprawled out on the beach next to the popular hotel Etoile du Sud after gunmen attacked beachgoers outside three hotels Sunday in Grand-Bassam. Security forces and members of the Ivorian Red Cross were clearing the bodies.

Jacques Able, who identified himself as the owner of Etoile du Sud said one person had been killed at the hotel.

Marcel Guy said he saw at least four gunmen with Kalashnikov rifles on the beach. He said one approached two children, and spoke in Arabic. One child knelt and prayed, the other was shot dead.

The government said security forces had "neutralized" at least six attackers.

President Alassane Ouattara expected to arrive at the scene.

___

6 p.m.

Ivory Coast's government says that security forces have neutralized six armed men who staged attacks on three hotels in the historic town of Grand-Bassam.

State Minister Hamed Bakayoko said in a statement posted to the government Twitter that security sweeps are underway and a toll of people killed and injured will be announced in the coming hours. He said he urges the public to remain calm.

___

4:44 p.m.

Witnesses say bursts of gunfire have been heard in a southeastern Ivory Coast beach town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Ivory Coast's economic center, Abidjan.

Josiane Sekongo, 25, said shots rang out Sunday afternoon in Grand-Bassam, a popular weekend destination for Ivorians and foreigners.

Sekongo, who lives across from one of the town's many beachfront hotels, said she ran outside when she heard the gunfire and saw people running away from the beach. She said residents were hiding in their homes as security forces responded.

It was unclear how many assailants were involved. Casualty information was not immediately available.

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Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-attack-idUSKCN0WF0L9

World | Sun Mar 13, 2016 2:12pm EDT
Related: World, Ivory Coast, Africa

Twelve dead in Ivory Coast resort town attack, police source says

GRAND BASSAM, Ivory Coast


At least 12 people including four Europeans were killed on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on beachgoers at a resort town in Ivory Coast, a officer from the national police said.

"For the moment, we have a total of 12 dead, including four Europeans ... We don't know yet if there are others. We are doing clean-up operations right now," the officer told security forces during a briefing attended by a Reuters reporter.


Related Coverage
› Ivory Coast security forces 'neutralize six terrorists', minister says

(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ast-beach-hotel-attack-said-to-leave-two-dead

Al-Qaeda Claims Ivory Coast Attack That Left 22 People Dead

by Baudelaire Mieu, Olivier Monnier
March 13, 2016 — 8:15 AM PDT
Updated on March 13, 2016 — 10:06 PM PDT

- Assault is third on a West African hotel since November
- Beach town is popular with foreigners, close to Abidjan

Militants linked to al-Qaeda said they led an attack on Sunday that left at least 22 people dead in Ivory Coast, the third assault on a West African hotel since November.

Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and al-Mourabitoune said three of its fighters died in the attack in Grand Bassam, Mauritanian newspaper al-Akhbar reported, citing a statement. At least 14 civilians and two soldiers were killed, President Alassane Ouattara said in comments broadcast on state television. Six militants were killed, he said.

“The situation is under control,” Ouattara, 74, said. “We are continuing to reinforce security in Grand Bassam, in Abidjan, and in the whole Ivorian territory.”

Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, has been on high alert since November when al-Qaeda-linked insurgents led an attack at a Radisson hotel in Mali in which about 20 people died. The group pledged to continue attacking allies of France and led a similar assault that left about 30 dead in Burkina Faso in February. It’s the first attack by Islamist militants in Ivory Coast, a former French colony with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

Islamist Fighters

The Islamist fighters have established bases in northern Mali since a coup in 2012. French President Francois Hollande sent thousands of soldiers to push back the fighters, who benefited from cash and weapons that flowed south after the ouster of Libya’s Moammar Qaddafi in 2011. The militants have vowed to attack French interests until the government pulls soldiers out of the region.

Ivory Coast’s economy has rebounded under Ouattara after almost a decade of conflict in the 2000s and a disputed election in 2010 that left thousands dead and forced the country to default on its foreign debt. Ouattara has pledged to boost economic growth to about 10 percent per year through 2020.

L’Etoile du Sud hotel, the Wharf Hotel and Hotel La Taverne were the targets in the Ivory Coast raid. Grand Bassam is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Abidjan, the country’s commercial capital. Grand Bassam, the former capital during French colonial rule, is popular with residents of Abidjan as a weekend getaway. The beach has more than a dozen restaurants and hotels that are frequented by both Ivorians and foreigners.

Foreign Casualties

One Lebanese citizen was killed and five were were injured, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. The U.S. State Department said there were no reports of Americans among the casualties. One French citizen was killed, the government said. A press aide for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that Carla Bruni, his wife, had been in Ivory Coast and returned before the attacks.

The U.S. condemns the attack in the “strongest terms” and is prepared to assist Ivory Coast’s government as it investigates, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

 

[Doomer Doug]

And so it begins, Housecarl. Al Qaida is responding to the Syrian and Libya and Iraq attacks by launching other attacks on a broader front. I am surprised they haven't hit us in CONUS yet, other than the "workplace violence" issue in San Bernadino.

Mao: when the enemy is weak, attack, and when the enemy is strong, retreat. Use your strengths against the enemies weakness, and only attack when victory is certain. It looks like Al Qaida has been reading Sun Tzu and Mao Tse Tung.

We carpet bomb them in Syria and Iraq, they attack us in Somalia. We attack them in Somalia and they attack us in West Africa. We attack them in West Africa, and they attack us in CONUS. Yep, the final phase of Syria is going to be played out in CONUS.

 

[Housecarl]

Maps....

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polop...rivatives/article_635/ivorycoast-map-0313.jpg

https://pagnecraze.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/ivpmap.gif?w=714

http://www.guidewithme.com/apk/West_Africa/content/data/images/grand-bassam_travel_map.png

 

[Housecarl]

And so it begins, Housecarl. Al Qaida is responding to the Syrian and Libya and Iraq attacks by launching other attacks on a broader front. I am surprised they haven't hit us in CONUS yet, other than the "workplace violence" issue in San Bernadino.

Mao: when the enemy is weak, attack, and when the enemy is strong, retreat. Use your strengths against the enemies weakness, and only attack when victory is certain. It looks like Al Qaida has been reading Sun Tzu and Mao Tse Tung.

We carpet bomb them in Syria and Iraq, they attack us in Somalia. We attack them in Somalia and they attack us in West Africa. We attack them in West Africa, and they attack us in CONUS. Yep, the final phase of Syria is going to be played out in CONUS.

Yeah, these kinds of raid attacks as shown in Paris, Mumbai, San Bernardino, Garland and other places like Kenya, Somalia, Kabul and Amman are a threat no one wants to really contemplate due to the simple truth that if such plots aren't uncovered before they're triggered there is no way to blunt them other than react and recovery. They are also relatively cheap to pull, the only real hurdle is the logistics and security in putting the assault team together with their gear and getting them to their target(s).

 

[Ragnarok]

Article I posted on the Horsemen thread says that the attack was probably meant to kill the American contingent but they were delayed en route, which probably saved their lives.

 

[Doomer Doug]

No plan survives contact with the enemy. This style of lone wolf or small cell attacks is impossible to prevent unless you have a very robust intelligence ability, by which I mean human intel. We can't penetrate these cells very effectively. One to three people with grenades, pistols, rifles and c-4 can do a lot of damage. They chose the time and place. Hitler eventually had to deploy one German soldier per one mile of railroad tracks to get the supply trains through. Al Qaida said one of their major goals was to make us spend money until we went bankrupt.

We have seen multiple coordinated attacks in Africa the last six months. It is clear "they" are making a play to destabilize the entire African continent. If they can't hit us in the Middle East they shift the war zone to Africa. If they can't hit us there, they go after South American or North America. Now that we have two moron leaders, Obama in the USA and Trudeau junior in Canada we are wide open in CONUS.

 

[Snyper]

Sounds like they need life guards on the beach with Barrett rifles in the towers

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.kiiitv.com/story/31460364/survivors-of-ivory-coast-attack-describe-confusion-and-fear

Survivors of Ivory Coast attack describe confusion and fear

Posted: Mar 14, 2016 2:01 AM PDT
Updated: Mar 14, 2016 3:41 AM PDT
By ROBBIE COREY-BOULET and CHRISTIN ROBY
Associated Press

GRAND-BASSAM, Ivory Coast (AP) - Survivors of the first attack by Islamic extremists in Ivory Coast described scenes of confusion and fear as the jihadists gunned down defenseless civilians at a beachfront resort area. The attack left 16 dead.

Those who make a living off tourism believed the attack on Sunday would deal it a huge blow.

"Here, we work every day so foreigners (can) come here to relax ... With all that has happened, I don't think that the clients are going to come back now," said Francois Tanoh, who rents beach chairs to tourists.

Frenchman Charles-Philippe d'Orleans said he was at the beach with a friend when he heard the first shot, and thought it was a firecracker; then he heard another and louder one. A security guard told beachgoers not to worry, that some youths had tried to enter the paid-access beach and that another guard had fired his weapon into the air, d'Orleans told French radio RTL.

But then more shooting broke out and d'Orleans and others hid behind a wall with gunmen "to the right, to the left, toward the road and toward the beach," d'Orleans told the radio interviewer. He said that when the gunfire receded he and his friend sped away in a car.

"Afterward we said 'Wow, we actually escaped something big," he said.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara is scheduled to preside over an emergency cabinet meeting Monday to respond to the attack by al-Qaida extremists.

The attack on Grand-Bassam was the first of its kind in Ivory Coast. Officials had been bracing for one in the wake of similar assaults by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali.

Despite heightened security measures in recent months, the extremists attacked civilians at one of the country's top destinations for both Ivorians and foreigners, but security forces apparently responded quickly.

Ivorian newspapers on Monday morning featured graphic photos of dead bodies sprawled on the beach. The headline for one paper, Le Patriote, read: "We are Grand-Bassam!"

"These terrorist attacks can happen anywhere, at any time," Ouattara said Sunday after visiting the Etoile du Sud hotel, one of three hotels where gunmen opened fire. "We have shown that we have the capacity to contain the damage that can result."

France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will travel to the West Africa country on Tuesday alongside Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. One French citizen was killed.

French President Francois Hollande condemned the attack as cowardly and odious.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed in Berlin that a German woman was killed.

The 16 dead included 14 civilians and two Ivorian special forces, Ouattara said. Six assailants were also killed and at least 22 people - 19 civilians and three special forces - were wounded, Ouattara said.

Appearing on state television Sunday night, Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said the 14 civilian victims came from countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, France, Germany and Mali.

The toll could rise, Bakayoko said.

Officials were not ready to provide information on the attackers, though authorities were in possession of mobile phones and other evidence that would allow them "to go to the source" of the attack, Bakayoko said.

He urged Ivorians to remain strong in the face of the extremist threat.

"It's a grave event, but we must face it," he said.

The attack in Grand-Bassam was the third major attack on a tourism center in West Africa since November. Dozens of people were killed in a siege at a Malian hotel in November and an assault on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso in January. Analysts had warned for months that Ivory Coast could also be hit by jihadists.

Bakayoko said authorities had taken steps to prepare the country for an attack, crediting their work with reducing Sunday's loss of life.

"There was anticipation. You know that our country has been targeted for a few years. We did whatever we could," Bakayoko said.

He said security forces had responded within 30 minutes and that within two hours the assailants had been killed.

Sites in Grand-Bassam were among more than 100 that had been under heightened surveillance in recent months, Bakayoko said, adding that those measures were going to continue.

"Count on us. We are going to reinforce the surveillance," he said.

Statements condemning Sunday's attack came from countries including the United States and Britain. The Paris prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation into the attack, calling it murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise. Anti-terrorism investigators will handle the probe because there was a French victim.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility, according to SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist websites.

Human Rights Watch also issued a statement condemning the "horrific terrorist attack." The group, which has accused Ivory Coast of rights abuses in response to past security challenges, also called for human rights to be respected as the investigation progresses.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN0WG0EX

Al Qaeda gunmen kill 16 in Ivory Coast beach attack

Mon Mar 14, 2016 6:31am GMT
By Ange Aboa and Joe Penney

GRAND BASSAM, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Gunmen from al Qaeda's North African branch killed 16 people, including four Europeans, at a beach resort town in Ivory Coast on Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly attacks that have confirmed the Islamists' growing reach in West Africa.

Six shooters targeted hotels on a beach at Grand Bassam, a weekend retreat popular with westerners about 40 km (25 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan, before being killed in clashes with Ivorian security forces, the government said.

"Six attackers came onto the beach in Bassam this afternoon," Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said during a visit to the site. "We have 14 civilians and two special forces soldiers who were unfortunately killed."

A French man was killed in the attack, according to a French foreign ministry spokesman. The nationalities of the other dead were not yet known, but four were European, one officer said during a briefing attended by a Reuters reporter.

Ivory Coast Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko later said foreign citizens from France, Germany, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon were among the victims.

The reporter saw the bodies of three white people at Grand Bassam's Chelsea Hotel and another in the Hotel Etoile du Sud next door.

A short drive from Abidjan - one of West Africa's largest cities with around 5 million inhabitants - Grand Bassam fills up on weekends with thousands of beachgoers.

Witnesses said the gunmen followed a pathway onto the beach where they then opened fire on swimmers and sunbathers before turning their attention to the packed seafront hotels where people were eating and drinking at lunchtime.

"They started shooting and everyone just started running. There were women and children running and hiding," said another witness, Marie Bassole. "It started on the beach. Whoever they saw, they shot at."

Security forces moved to evacuate the area surrounding the beach. Bullet holes riddled vehicles nearby and glass from shattered windows littered the ground.

The body of one of the attackers, dressed in dark trousers and a blood-covered striped shirt, lay beside the beachside entrance to one hotel, a bullet hole in his head.

Beside him on the sand sat a combat vest used to carry extra ammunition. Nearby, on the ground, lay unexploded grenades.


GROWING THREAT

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has carried out other recent attacks in the region, claimed responsibility for Sunday's shootings, according to the U.S.-based SITE intelligence monitoring group, citing an AQIM statement.

It said the attack had been carried out by just three militants.

Barely two months ago, Islamists killed dozens of people in a hotel and cafe frequented by foreigners in neighbouring Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. Gunmen also attacked a hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, late last year.

Both of those attacks were also claimed by AQIM and raised concern that militants were extending their reach far beyond their traditional zones of operation in the Sahara and the arid Sahel region. [nL8N14Z4GR]

Though previously untouched by Islamist violence, Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa's largest economy and the world's top cocoa producer, has long been considered a target for militants.

It has been on high alert since the Ouagadougou attacks, and security has been visibly bolstered at potential targets, including shopping malls and high-end hotels.

By Sunday evening, Ivorian authorities had begun an investigation into the attacks.

"We have a mobile phone that is now in the hands of the Ivorian scientific police that will allow us to look at all the ramifications and go back to the source," Interior Minister Bakayoko said on state-owned television.

As the scale of the tragedy become evident, regional and world leaders expressed their support for Ivory Coast, which has recently emerged from a decade of political turmoil and civil war to become one of the world's fastest growing economies.

President Macky Sall of Senegal, another country seen as a likely target for AQIM, called upon West African countries to step up their cooperation against terrorism and violent extremism.

France's President Francois Hollande, meanwhile, denounced the shootings in the former French colony as a "cowardly attack."

"France will bring its logistical support and intelligence to Ivory Coast to find the attackers. It will pursue and intensify its cooperation with its partners in the fight against terrorism," he said in a statement.


(Additional reporting by Joe Bavier and Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Edward McAllister and Joe Bavier Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Jonathan Oatis)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ic-speaking-attacker/articleshow/51389030.cms

Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Child 'spared for praying' as another is shot dead by 'Arabic speaking' attacker

Will Worley | The Independent | Mar 14, 2016, 09.57 AM IST

At least one child was among the 16 people killed in an attack at the popular Grand-Bassam resort in Ivory Coast, it has been reported.

Officials say four Europeans were among 14 civilian victims, while two soldiers died as part of an operation that saw six gunmen "neutralised".

A witness named Marcel Guy said he saw a group of at least four men armed with Kalashnikovs on the beach near the L'Etoile du Sud hotel.

A bearded gunman approached two children and allegedly spoke in Arabic.

One child knelt and prayed but the other was shot dead.

"The Christian boy was shot and killed right in front of my eyes," Mr Guy said.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has taken responsibility for the attack, which marks the first Islamist terror attack on the West African nation since 2011.

Many other countries in the region have been hit hard by Islamist militant insurgencies.

Neighbouring Mali has seen significant conflict in recent years.

In November 2015, the Radisson Hotel in Mali's capital Bamako was targeted by extremists.

120 hostages were taken and 20 people were killed before special forces stormed the site.

 

[Housecarl]

Article I posted on the Horsemen thread says that the attack was probably meant to kill the American contingent but they were delayed en route, which probably saved their lives.

Yeah, targeted US officials on a tour of the area.

 

[Amazed]

A witness named Marcel Guy said he saw a group of at least four men armed with Kalashnikovs on the beach near the L'Etoile du Sud hotel.

A bearded gunman approached two children and allegedly spoke in Arabic.

One child knelt and prayed but the other was shot dead.

"The Christian boy was shot and killed right in front of my eyes," Mr Guy said.

Nope, there's no war on Christians.

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm.....Particularly the source being Al Jazeera.....


For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/op...-attack-targets-al-qaeda-160314060500422.html

Opinion

Ivory Coast attack: Beyond the targets

The indirect targets of the Ivory Coast attack are both France and a commitment to secularism in western Africa.

14 Mar 2016 07:24 GMT | Africa, Ivory Coast, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al-Shabab
Remi Piet

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the Grand-Bassam attack in Ivory Coast that left at least 16 people dead on Sunday. This latest attack indicates a strategic shift by the terrorist group: spreading fear and instability further south and destabilising the capitals of the countries involved in fighting against its Sahel bastions. After smearing the streets of Ouagadougou and Bamako with blood over the past six months, the terrorists have added a new country on their list of targets.

In all three cases, such attacks have been intended to derail a steady process of institution building. The objective of these attacks is to fuel hatred and xenophobia while impeding the economic development of societies where fundamentalists hope to recruit more zealots.

strongest weapon against fundamentalism is a healthy democratic society promoting a multi-party system and guaranteeing freedom of expression.

Nowhere is this more true than in Africa, a continent whose economic development is often hampered by the weakness of its political institutions.

Targeting hotels

By targeting hotels frequented by Western tourists and entrepreneurs, the terrorists are hoping to attack African economies at their heart, damaging its tourism sector and hampering the attraction of foreign investors.

Sunday's attacks in Grand-Bassam followed this objective as did the recent attack against the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou and the raid again the Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital Bamako.


ALSO READ: Deadly attack hits Ivory Coast tourist resort


Similarities are striking between the three attacks even beyond the choice of targets. Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast are three countries which had successfully overcome an era of turmoil to organise peaceful presidential elections.

In Ivory Coast, the past five years have been impressive in terms of institutional reconstruction after the coastal nation was riven by two religious wars from 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 between a government-held Christian south and northern regions under the control of Muslim rebels. As a result, Alassane Ouattara was re-elected by a landslide in a relatively peaceful election last year.

Far from traditional cliches and the image that terrorists want to spread, Western Africa has changed over the past few years. From the peaceful transition in Nigeria between Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari to the stepping down of president Amadou Toumani Toure in conformity with the Malian constitution or the rebirth of democracy in Burkina Faso, the continent has proved its capacity to steadily move towards sustainable democracy despite the terrorist threats.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Mali, Roch Marc Christian Kabore in Burkina Faso and Alassane Ouattara in Ivory Coast were each elected after widely acclaimed ballots in which their opponents peacefully admitted defeat and publicly congratulated the winning candidates.

If Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, and Boko Haram have suffered severe military defeats on the ground recently, the biggest drawback for fundamentalists has been the resilience of Western African societies and their capacity to answer with a commitment to democratic rule.

If the recent terrorist attacks aim to scare away investments essential to African development, they are no more than painful defeats in a war for democracy that is being steadily and slowly won.

Targeting secularism

Beyond Ivory Coast, the indirect target of Sunday's attack are both France and a commitment to secularism in western Africa. Indeed, in 2014, Paris announced that its former colony would be its base for fighting Islamist terrorism in the Sahel region.

A 3,000-strong task force of French solders has been based there ever since. Similarly in July 2015, foreign imams were banned from preaching in mosques in the north of Ivory Coast and the government suspended the construction of new radical mosques around the northern city of Ouangolodougou. The renewed French involvement in the subcontinent is hampering the progression of fundamentalists' ideology and interests.

Each of the Western African countries recently attacked by AQIM benefited from the benevolent support of the former coloniser, France, and Francois Hollande's administration, which broke away from his predecessor's resolute decision to support authoritarian leaders at the expense of democratic demands.

If French interference in African domestic affairs is far from over, the approach is vastly different. Sarkozy's speech belittling the "African man who had failed to enter history" has thankfully been replaced by a more humble support to endogenous institution building supported by the current French president.

The growing political democratic stability of Western African countries which face terrorist threats on a daily basis is also a lesson for populations in industrialised countries in Europe and the United States. While the latter have decided to cower into debates on national identity and to turn more and more towards populistic leaders - from Donald Trump to Viktor Orban or Marine Le Pen - the former have shown a political maturity that breaks with the obsolete cliche on Western Africa.

The outcome of the war on terrorism in the continent will depend on the capacity of African societies to continue supporting their newly democratically elected regimes. The same holds true for Europe and the United States following the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.

If local populations turn their back on mainstream liberal parties and answer the xenophobic calls of extreme movements and leaders, then the terrorists will have achieved their objectives. This would boost their capacity to recruit and only increase the rate of attacks.

Whether in Ivory Coast, Mali or in Burkina Faso, whether in recently stricken Indonesia, Turkey or Tunisia, the reinforcement of liberal democracy is the only cure to the terrorist cancer.

Remi Piet is assistant professor of public policy, diplomacy and international political economy at Qatar University.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

 

[Nowski]

The only way to attack Islam, is to hit it at its core.

Medina and Mecca are long overdue to be glassed over.

Islam is from the very pits of hell. Until the entire world,
especially the Western nations come to this realization,
there is nothing that can be done to stop this most hideous,
so called religion, that has been nothing but a plaque on mankind,
since its inception.

The only good Muslim, is a very dead Muslim.

Regards to all,
Nowski

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-attack-idUSKCN0WF0L9

World | Mon Mar 14, 2016 10:20am EDT
Related: World, Ivory Coast, Africa, Mali

Ivory Coast soldiers patrol deserted beaches after al Qaeda attack

GRAND BASSAM, Ivory Coast | By Joe Bavier


Ivory Coast soldiers armed with assault rifles patrolled the deserted beaches of a resort town on Monday, a day after gunmen from al Qaeda's North African branch killed 16 people.

The raid was the third high-profile attack by Islamist militants in West Africa since November, but the first on Ivory Coast, the economic powerhouse of the French-speaking region.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it was responsible for storming the beach hotels in Grand Bassam, a weekend retreat popular with Ivorians and westerners about 40 km (25 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan.

Swimmers and sunbathers were targeted, as well as visitors eating and drinking by the shore at lunchtime. Foreign citizens from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, France, Germany and Mali were among the victims, according to the interior ministry. Two soldiers and six attackers were also killed.

On Monday, there was no sign of the street hawkers and vendors who usually sell necklaces and bathing suits near the beach and resort hotels. Soldiers patrolled up and down the oceanfront, stopping to speak with hotel and restaurant staff who were at work but had no customers to serve.

The attack is a heavy blow for Ivory Coast, a country recovering from more than a decade of political turmoil that culminated in a civil war in 2011. President Alassane Ouattara won a landslide election victory in October, promising to attract foreign investment to boost the economy.

It also provides further evidence that Islamist militants in Africa are expanding beyond their traditional zones of operation in the Sahara and the arid Sahel region in an increasingly ambitious campaign of violence.


Related Coverage
› Death toll in Ivory Coast militant attack rises to 18: government

It raises fears over where they might strike next and poses serious security questions for former colonial power France, which has thousands of citizens and troops in the region.


'NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN'

"I saw all the customers running with their crying children. I asked and they said 'They're there on the beach shooting'," said Souleymane Ouadreogo, who works at the Assoyam Beach hotel and restaurant.

"We never thought it would happen here. Abidjan, maybe. But here? Never."

The two other recent attacks in the region were also claimed by AQIM, working with other militant groups.

In January, gunmen killed dozens of people in a cafe frequented by foreigners in neighboring Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, and also attacked a hotel. Militants attacked a hotel in the Malian capital Bamako late last year, killing 20.

The attack is another setback for France, a major player in West African security. Some 18,000 French citizens still live in the country.

France, which intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to try to restore stability after a rebellion in 2012 by ethnic Tuaregs that was later hijacked by jihadists linked to al Qaeda, has 3,500 troops in the region from Senegal in the far west to Chad.

A French military base in Chad, manned by about 600 soldiers, serves as a logistical hub for the country's regional operation against Islamist militancy.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to Ivory Coast on Tuesday to offer logistical support and intelligence, French diplomatic sources said. Counter-terrorism officials have also been sent to help the investigation.


(Additional reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly and Ange Aboa in Abidjan and John Irish in Paris; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Pravin Char)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/w...ned-by-al-qaeda-after-ivory-coast-attack.html

France Threatened By Al-Qaeda After Ivory Coast Attack

2 hours 44 minutes ago

ABIDJAN - Al-Qaeda's North African branch threatened France and its allies fighting against jihadists in the volatile region, in a statement boasting about the group's deadly weekend attack on an Ivory Coast beach resort.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) said the shooting rampage at the Grand-Bassam resort on Sunday that left 18 people dead was one of a series of operations "targeting dens of espionage and conspiracies".

It warned that those nations involved in the regional anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane and the 2013 French-led Operation Serval in Mali would "receive a response", with their "criminal leaders" and interests targeted, according to the SITE group which monitors extremist organisations.

The statement was issued on the eve of a visit Tuesday by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to Ivory Coast after the beach attack whose victims included four French nationals.

Barkhane, which succeeded Serval in 2014, has at least 3,500 soldiers deployed across five countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -- to combat jihadist jihadist insurgencies.

AQIM warned Ivory Coast and all allies of France in the region that their "crimes will not pass without a response" and issued a wider threat to Western nationals to leave Muslim lands or "we will destroy your security and the security of your citizens".

The group had also claimed the attack on a top hotel and a nearby restaurant in the Burkina Faso capital in January that killed 30 people, and a hostage siege in the Malian capital Bamako in November that cost 20 lives.

AFP

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...support-after-ivory-coast-attack_1866126.html

France ups Africa anti-terror support after Ivory Coast attack

Last Updated: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 - 08:11

Abidjan: France has vowed to step up anti-terrorist cooperation in Africa after Al-Qaeda's North African branch said it carried out a deadly weekend attack on an Ivory Coast beach resort.

"We must reinforce our cooperation so that the terrorists have no chance" of success, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault yesterday, who arrived in Abidjan earlier Tuesday along with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

The two ministers flew in after Sunday's attack on the Grand-Bassam resort that left 18 people dead, among them four French nationals. Thirty-three people were wounded in the attack, 26 of whom are still in hospital.

After visiting some of the wounded, the French ministers met with Ivorian Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi and Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko.

Also in Abidjan as a mark of solidarity were Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi and Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe, who urged a regional response to terror.

"You don't fight terrorism alone... There are national responses which are important but they must be complemented and amplified by a regional and international response," Gnassignbe said.

"Alone, no one can defeat terrorism."

"Terrorism falls under international jurisdiction," agreed Benin's president.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) said the shooting rampage was one of a series of operations "targeting dens of espionage and conspiracies".

It directly threatened France and its allies in the region in warning that nations involved in the anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane and the 2013 French-led Operation Serval in Mali would "receive a response", with their "criminal leaders" and interests targeted, according to the SITE group which monitors extremist groups.

"Regarding (Operation) Barkhane... We have decided to station GIGN elements who in the event of attack in the region will be able intervene quickly and provide training in circumstances of serious terrorist crisis," to achieve a coordinated response, Cazeneuve said.

GIGN is a French paramilitary unit.

He said rapid intervention units could follow and that if necessary, France would "go beyond" mere coordination, without giving further details.

French President Francois Hollande had on Sunday vowed to "intensify cooperation" in African states hit by insurgencies.
AFP


First Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 - 08:11