Al Qaeda operative killed by Algerian military

ALGIERS, Algeria -- An Islamic militant killed by Algerian security forces in a raid more than two months ago has been identified as a man Washington considers to be a top al Qaeda operative in Africa, Algeria's official news agency reported Monday.\nEmad Abdelwahid Ahmed Alwan, sometimes known as Abu Mohammed, was shot and killed in a Sept. 12 raid in the eastern Batna region, about 270 miles east of the capital, Algiers, the official APS news agency reported.\nAhmed Alwan, a 37-year-old native of Yemen, was identified after a two-month investigation by government experts, the report said. He was a leader of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network for northern and western Africa, it said.\nIn Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, could not independently verify the Algerian report. But the official said Ahmed Alwan was among the top al Qaeda operatives in North Africa and that U.S. authorities would consider his death a positive development.\nAhmed Alwan had played a central role in setting up an organization in Yemen of Arab militants who had fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the report said.\nHe had been active in northern Africa since June 2001, APS said, and traveled extensively throughout the region, visiting Algeria, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mauritania and Mali.\nAccording to the report, Ahmed Alwan acted as an adviser for militant groups in the region and a liaison with operatives in Yemen. He was especially active in Algeria, where Islamic insurgents have fought with the government for 10 years.\nIn Algeria, Ahmed Alwan worked with the 4-year-old Salafist Group for Call and Combat, a militant group suspected of links to bin Laden, APS said.\nThe group is on a U.S. list of terror organizations, and Algeria is one of several countries that says the group has ties to al Qaeda. It is believed responsible for a number of deadly terror attacks in Algeria and elsewhere.\nAPS said al Qaeda is believed to have plans to use the group as a base for actions in the region and as a replacement for the loss of other centers of operations in Afghanistan and Somalia.\nFrench anti-terrorism police arrested five suspected members of the group last week in Paris and its suburbs, including a man who escaped from a Dutch jail in June.\nThe group killed nine soldiers and four police officers in two days of clashes last week. Algerian officials say the group has 600 members.\nThe presence of Ahmed Alwan in Africa indicated the importance al Qaeda places on its operations on the continent, the report said.