Terrorist Profile: Mokhtar Belmokhtar

This guy right here is very interesting because he keeps surviving strikes against him. Born in Algeria, he became interested in jihadism as a young man traveling to fight in the soviet afghan war. There, he lost an eye but continued his struggle against the Algerian government during the insurgency there in the 90’s. So this is a highly respected terrorist within extremist circles. In 2006 when the GSPC became the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, He became a senior leader of the group and eventually split from the group after disputes creating his own called Islamist Al-Mulathameen (Masked) Brigade, or Al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam (Those who Sign with Blood) Brigade. He is known for the infamous In Amenas hostage crisis which went on for three days straight. He is known for kidnappings and other bombings in North Africa but most importantly he has the nickname Mr. Marlboro for his drug trafficking activities of cigarettes. He has survived many strike attempts against his life, most recently a November 2016 strike by France based on U.S. intelligence. It’s not clear where he is at the moment but what we do know is that he is still roaming the North African desert.