Groupe Islamique Armee (GIA)*
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The GIA targets ‘non-Islamic’ targets, including civilians, in a brutal campaign of terror involving a variety of methods. Periodic massacres of villagers suspected of supporting the security forces (or in some cases the rival Armee Islamique du Salut (AIS) before it signed a ceasefire) have been supplemented by bombings in urban areas and terrorist attacks on foreigners. The GIA has also been linked to bomb blasts in France aimed at civilians. It operates mostly in independent cells.*
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Most encounters with the GIA are usually in small groups less than a company in size, unless cornered at a base of operations. The core are believed to be veterans of the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan with links to Al Qaeda.