al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

The area where the GSPC is active is surrounded by the green line.

The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb is an Islamic organisation which has its roots in Algeria. They are armed, and were called Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (French: Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat; GSPC) beforehand. In English they were sometimes referred to as Group for Call and Combat. They want to overthrow the Algerian government and put an Islamic state in its place. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgent campaign.

It is commonly believed that the group is a false flag operation created by the Algerian state intelligence agency. The group has said it would attack Algerian, Spanish, French, and American targets. It has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State, and similarly classed as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

The group is believed to be allied with al-Qaeda, and to have between 300 and 800 active fighters.