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A look at group behind Algerian hostage situation

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    Former CIA operative Mike Baker weighs in

  • Duration 3:16
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-- look at this group being blamed for taking those hostages.

This map shows a huge area in northwest Africa where this group operates.

Mike maker is a former CIA Covert operations officer and president of diligence LLC it's a global intelligence.

And security firm so in your line of work you keep an eye on places like this there are Islamic.

Militants who have been moving to the south right in Algeria.

This is a very there's there's so many layers here.

And I don't wanna get lost in the weeks but I think it's important for the for want to understand the context of this.

The leaders of this particular hostage taking incident at this very remote gas facility it's jointly operated by a stat oil Norwegian company in BP.

That's why there's so many foreign nationalities there but the leaders of the hostage taking incident they cut their teeth and extremism back when the Soviets occupied Afghanistan.

And then after that they moved to various Jihad causes including in Algeria.

The Algerian military fought what was called the Armed Islamic Group in the ninety's and I was involved in operations and Algeria as far back as -- ninety's it was one -- the ugly as nasty as most violent situations I've ever seen -- -- ruthless ruthless -- situation.

But what it meant was eventually after hundreds of thousands of lives were taken.

Eventually they'd they'd got the extremists most -- to accept assimilate put down their weapons -- -- -- a lot of them didn't.

Those that didn't and moved on to other causes including.

Into Molly now also -- let me bring in Libya just for a second because we have to talk about well you know -- -- -- Ghazi emboldened.

-- of these these hostage takers these extremists.

Well I don't think was -- so much is affected Qaddafi was it was it was he was kicked out of the way.

We rushed in there without really thinking about what was gonna happen weapons just dispersed everywhere.

A lot of those insurgents that were involved in the fighting in in Libya they moved on they went in this Algeria then moved -- -- they've taken over the northern part of that country.

All of this happening in North Africa we shouldn't be surprised but we are because our focus has been on Afghanistan -- -- -- -- -- so they had the ideology.

Now they have the weaponry.

Well they got a lot more weaponry than they had -- been a real resurgence of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which -- been based in Algeria for some time.

It has been a resurgence over the past couple of years in part because.

Of this renewed effort in Libya -- it Somalia to throw that in there that Central African Republic is going to be a player and all of this this is a very very serious that you.

-- again we don't know what has happened with this hostage rescue attempt if that's in fact what it is reports are that maybe as many as 35 hostages have been killed.

That does not like -- sound like the kind of thing that this well that a CIA kind of operation with with good intelligence and would have allowed to happen.

Well now is it but here's the problem I mean there's it's a very remote area it's a sovereign state as Jennifer Griffin pointed out unless and unless they the Algerian military which is very good very battle hardened and they're very aggressive though to go down so and and and you know they there's rumors and there's talk that -- -- -- -- the hostage -- the opportunity to leave as long as they let the hostages there.

And that wasn't picked up on by apple -- -- involved in this and so that's what made it launched the initial assault.

But they are very good but -- -- they ask for us to be there.

What are we gonna do a drop in their -- announced.

Mike Baker Mike thanks we'll keep an eye on the story and but our viewers know what happens --

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