Armed Islamic Group

aka Groupement Islamique Arme, AIG, Al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallah

The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) is an extremist Islamic organization bent on overthrowing Algeria's military-backed regime and creating an Islamic state. The Algerian government has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting the GIA and other Algerian extremist groups.

The GIA began a terror campaign in 1992 after the Algerian Army declared a state of emergency and blocked an election that the Islamic Salvation Front, Algeria's largest opposition party, appeared certain to win. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the civil conflict that followed.

The GIA (the French acronym for Groupement Islamique Arme) has carried out scores of attacks against civilians—targeting journalists, foreign residents, and government workers. Sometimes the GIA wiped out entire villages during its campaign of civilian massacres. The group uses tactics such as assassinations and car bombings and is known for kidnapping victims and slitting ...