Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Shifts To Iraqi-Style IED Attacks

By: CBS News Investigates
Topics: Iraq

A new video released by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and obtained by CBS News shows a series of IED attacks carried out by the group, including one that derailed a train. Although this is not the first time that the group resorted to IED explosions, the large amount of them indicates a shift to the less risky IED attacks from the traditional suicide car bombs. Some of the IED explosion shots seen in the 40-minute video were strikingly similar to those seen in Iraqi insurgency videos.

The video also exposes a new tactic used by the group. In almost every attack seen on the tape, the group planted two devices; one to attack a primary target followed by a second to attack a larger number of troops who gather to rescue the victims hurt in the first explosion.

The tape, which is entitled "The War of the Bombs and the Mines," is part of a series called "The Shadows of the Swords" and opens with an introduction that featured excerpts from statements by some renowned al Qaeda sympathizers, as well as the group's leader Abu Mus'ab Abdel Wadud, in which he denounces the Algerian regime and the country's military chiefs.

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