The group was formerly known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), or Al-Safayya. In January 2007, the GSPC changed its official name to Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Most AQIM activity occurs in eastern Algeria, though the group may be expanding its presence across North Africa, including Mali and Mauritania. Cells have also been uncovered in Europe.

AQIM seeks the overthrow of Algeria's secular, military government and the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Algeria. The alliance with Al-Qaida, according to some experts, may indicate a shift to a wider jihad, including activity across North Africa, Western Europe and Iraq.

AQIM is believed to have between 300 and 500 armed fighters and possibly hundreds of supporters.

AQIM receives financial and logistic support from Algerian expatriates. The Algerian government has charged Sudan and Iran with supporting Islamic fundamentalists. The GSPC formally linked itself with Al-Qaida, changing its name in early 2007 to highlight the partnership.

The group is also reported to have cross-border associations with Islamist organizations in Tunisia, Libya and Morocco, as well as separatist groups in Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Libya.

GSPC/AQIM maintains that it only attacks government and military targets. However, the U.S. State Dept., among others, says the group attacks civilians as well.

The group usually carries out attacks in rural areas. It has been known to set up phony roadblocks as a tactic to attack military, police and government convoys.

AQIM also has a large bandit and smuggling network that it uses to finance its operations. The group is thought to raise some of its money by smuggling cigarettes, automobiles, weapons and drugs.

The Algerian army accused GSPC of kidnapping 32 European tourists in the Sahara desert between late February and early March 2003.

The Salafists advocate what they consider a pure interpretation of the Koran. In 1996, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat broke away from another of Algeria's armed resistance groups, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). Unlike the GIA, the GSPC garnered some popular support by vowing not to attack civilians inside Algeria.

By 2000, GSPC had taken over GIA's networks in Europe and North Africa, according to Italian investigators.

In 2003, GSPC received $5 million-$7 million in ransom money from Germany in exchange for 32 kidnapped tourists. It apparently used the money to buy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine guns and mortars, as well as satellite-positioning equipment to mark caches of weapons buried in the desert.

According to a former member of the organization, GSPC founder and leader Hassan Hattab was executed in 2003 by his aides, supposedly for negotiating with the Algerian government. However, these claims are believed to be false. The GSPC itself announced that Hattab simply resigned, and in March 2006, Hattab was reported to have called for the GSPC to end its fight. Hattab was succeeded by Amari Saifi and Nabil Sahrawi, who linked the group to Al-Qaida.

In March 2004, Saifi was captured by Chadian rebel soldiers along with 16 other GSPC members. In October 2004, Saifi was extradited to Algeria from Libya. Tripoli had threatened to bomb Chadian rebel positions unless the rebels handed over the terrorist leader.

Sahrawi was reported killed in June 2004 during an Algerian army operation against the GSPC. Abu Musab Abdulwadood (aka Abdelmalek Droukdel), a former university science and bomb expert, has reportedly led the group since then.

Western intelligence sources indicated the GSPC has been slowly relocating due to heavy pressure from the Algerian military, as reported by the Middle East Newsline in April 2005. Some members have gone south to Mali and Niger, while others have headed toward the Middle East. GSPC/AQIM members have been recruited by Al-Qaida-aligned cells in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria because of their weapons skills as well as experience in military and intelligence operations. "In some cases, the Salafists left Algeria for the Levant as individuals," said one intelligence official. "In other cases, they came as complete cells."

While Algeria has implemented strong counter-terrorism programs, AQIM continued to make its presence felt. The pace of attacks has been uneven, with some lulls followed by more active periods. The U.S. State Dept. reported that the first half of 2008 was relatively quiet compared with 2007, largely as a result of a government crackdown. But the last half of 2008 was quite active, especially in August.

Experts differ on AQIM's impact and staying power. One view holds that its influence is linked largely to the Iraq war. Accordingly, it may become less important as that conflict winds down. By mid-2009, the size of the group dwindled to under 800 persons, according to some analysts.

However, high unemployment still provides a situation favorable for AQIM recruiting, says the U.S. State Dept. As a result of attacks in spring 2009, the Algerian government once again to deployed a large contingent of troops to take on the group.

February to March: Islamic guerrillas kidnapped a group of 32 European tourists in the Saharan desert. The GSPC was suspected of being involved, although the Algerian government did not confirm the kidnappings.

May 6: GSPC rebels ambushed a military convoy in the Boumerdes region, killing six soldiers. The militants detonated a bomb near a truck and shot the survivors.

May 14: The Algerian army rescued 17 of above-noted kidnapped tourists during a raid on a guerrilla hideout. The army said the GSPC was behind the abductions.

August: The GSPC released the remaining hostages in exchange for around $7 million in ransom money from the German government. Hassan Hattab's lieutenants executed him for negotiating with the Algerian government and took control of the group.

June 2: GSPC members attacked an Algerian army convoy, killing 10 soldiers and injuring 45. A few days earlier, four soldiers were killed in an apparently related ambush.

June 13: GSPC declared its intent to target foreign nationals and companies.

June: Terrorist group leader Nabil Sahrawi was killed in an Algerian military operation.

Oct. 24: An ambush on a highway near Algiers left 16 civilian men dead. Authorities blamed the GSPC.

Oct. 27: Saifi was extradited to Algeria after reportedly being intercepted in Libya near the Chadian-Libyan border.

March: In a warning posted on the Internet during an Arab League summit in Algiers, GSPC members threatened to attack any Arab leader who cooperated with Israel or the U.S.

June 4: Up to 150 GSPC militants raided an army installation in northern Mauritania, killing at least 15 soldiers. The group said the attack was revenge for the imprisonment of Islamists in Mauritania.

Aug. 15: In a statement on its Web site, GSPC urged the "sons of Islam in France" to attack vacationing Algerian officials. If the officials could not be killed, it continued, a campaign should be launched within "the Islamic communities to scandalize them, expose them and discomfort them."

Sept. 26: French authorities arrested nine suspected GSPC terrorists in a series of raids in Paris and Normandy. The militants were believed to be planning an attack on a high-profile French target. Earlier in the month, suspected leader Abu Mossab Abdelwadoud declared France to be the GSPC's number one enemy. "The only way to teach France to behave is jihad and the Islamic martyr," said a statement attributed to Abdelwadoud on a GSPC Web site.

"The GSPC dissociates itself from this small group ... a group that still refuses to lay down arms.... Any statement that is not signed by Hassan Hattab should not be taken into consideration," Hattab's alleged statement said. There was no way of confirming the authenticity of the statement, but the wording and method of distribution was similar to Hattab's previous messages.

July 21: Police arrested four GSPC members in northern Italy on terrorism charges as the group prepared to leave for Algeria and Iraq. The four were allegedly in charge of financing and recruiting new militants, as well as acquiring false documents, including identity documents and work permits for immigrants, according to Italian authorities.

Jan. 28: Around 20 AQIM members stormed an army outpost east of Algiers, killing at least 15 people, including five soldiers. Ten insurgents were reported killed in the army counterattack.

Feb. 13: A series of seven bombs went off almost simultaneously in the Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou districts east of Algiers. At least four of the bombs hit police stations. Six people were killed and 13 other injured.

April 27: AQIM member Samir Saioud was shot and killed by Algerian troops during a clash in the Si Mustapha region, 50 km (31 mi) east of Algiers. The government claimed he was the group's coordinator and second-in-command, but the AQIM declared he was just a soldier and member of the coordination committee.

July 11: An AQIM suicide car bomber killed eight people near a military barracks in the Kabylie region east of Algiers.

Oct. 4: AQIM commander Hareg Zoheir and two other rebels were killed in a gun battle at a military checkpoint in the Tzizi Ouzou region. Hareg Zoheir was said to be the second-in-command of AQIM and suspected of planning most of the suicide bombings in Algeria in the preceding months.

Dec. 11: Two bombs set by AQIM in Algiers killed at least 41 people at the U.N. offices in Hydra district and the Constitutional Court in Ben Aknoun district.

Dec. 20: French authorities discovered a terrorist-affiliated cell outside of Paris. The cell reportedly provided logistical and material support to AQIM. Support included funds, night-vision devices, cell phones and other electronic equipment. Police arrested eight men said to be associated with the cell.

June 4: AQIM took responsibility for a twin suicide bombing at the barracks at a military outpost in Burj Kaifan, Algeria.

June 10: Police in Spain arrested eight men suspected of providing support to AQIM. Spain's Interior Ministry said its antiterrorist effort included arrests in Barcelona, Pamplona and Castellon. Authorities recovered about $10,000 in funds, as well as banking materials including money transfer information, phone cards and other documents.

Aug. 3: A police station in the capital of the Kabylie region was damaged in a suicide bomb attack, leaving more than 20 people injured.

Aug. 9: Eight civilians were killed in an attack on a police station in Zemmouri al-Bahri, east of Algiers.

Aug. 10: Three policemen were killed in a bomb attack on the beach of Tigzirt, near Algiers. Additionally, security forces killed 12 terrorists in Ouacif and Ain Elhamam in a significant counter-terrorism operation.

Aug. 19: A suicide bomber exploded his vehicle outside a police training college in Issers where prospective new recruits were waiting for the gates to open. The Algerian government reported that 43 people were killed and 45 were injured. The attack was thought to be retaliation for the government's crackdown.

Aug. 20: Two car bombs exploded in the town of Bouira. The first, outside a military building, wounded four soldiers. The second exploded outside of a hotel being used to house foreigners working on the nearby Koudiet Acerdoune dam. A driver of a suicide vehicle rammed a bus carrying the workers and detonated the bomb, killing 11 people.

December: AQIM kidnapped two Canadian diplomats who had been travelling in Niger as part of a United Nations mission. The group released the diplomats unharmed in April 2009 along with two of a group of four European hostages who had been kidnapped in January.

May 31: AQIM executed Edwin Dyer, one of the tourists kidnapped in December 2008. AQIM claimed that Dyer was killed because the British failed to release Abu Qatada, a Jordanian known as Osama bin Laden's key operative in Europe. The British government was holding Qatada pending possible extradition to Jordan.

June 2: AQIM targeted a police convoy escorting two teachers in the Boumerdes region of Algeria, killing 11 people, including the teachers, with a roadside bomb.

June 11: Lt. Col. Lamana Ould Cheikh, a Malian intelligence officer, was assassinated by AQIM militants in his home in the northern city of Timbuktu. Cheikh was said to have been involved in two recent arrests of AQIM members in Mali.

June 17: AQIM militants attacked a convoy of paramilitary police in Algeria, killing 24 officers escorting a group of Chinese road workers. Militants detonated improvised explosive devices along the road and then opened fire on the convoy when the bombs exploded. The attack occurred about 110 miles east of Algiers.

June 17: Malian troops attacked an AQIM base in the SaharaDesert near the border with Algeria, killing 12 militants. Five soldiers were killed.

June 23: Algeria reportedly deployed 10,000 troops to search for the militants behind the June 17 attack. The government also arrested several people and recovered some weapons and ammunition.

June 23: Two armed men shot dead a U.S. aid worker in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, after trying to take him hostage. AQIM claimed responsibility, saying it was retaliation for U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

June 28: AQIM posted an online statement declaring France "the mother of all evils" for not welcoming the wearing of women's Muslim garments.

July 3-4: Malian army troops clashed with AQIM militants in two battles northeast of Timbuktu. Dozens were reported killed in the two attacks, and about 20 soldiers were declared missing, including a colonel.