While the relations between the two terrorist groups are “not the best in the world,” in Northern Africa the situation is a bit different, Salvador Burguet said.
He said that two months ago there were several meetings between representatives of Daesh in Northern Africa, its affiliate in Algeria, and representative of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in a bid to merge the two organizations’ forces.
“That is the only way they can be stronger and can launch an offensive from South to the North, because from the Sahara States to the South Boko Haram is very strong,” Burguet explained.
He added that Daesh needs to expand their activities from Libya to the West, and to do so it needs to cooperate with al-Qaeda, that is why they are “trying to merge both groups and create a common front.”
The al-Qaeda leadership officially cut ties with the Daesh group outlawed in many countries including Russia, in February 2014.
AICS is engaged in analyzing information to further turn it into intelligence and provide it to the customers who are mainly multinational companies deployed in crisis areas. If the matter concerns the national security of a state, AICS works with states.
