Al-Qaida more active in North Africa

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- Violence by an affiliated al-Qaida group in North Africa has escalated recently, counter-terrorism officials say, with several deadly attacks, officials said.

In one of the most recent attacks, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, based in Algeria, ambushed an army patrol last weekend in Mali. Casualties included more than 10 soldiers and several militants killed and others wounded.

U.S. and European intelligence agents told The New York Times the violence may be fueled by North Africans returning from Iraq. It also demonstrates a growing al-Qaida presence in the region.

The group has claimed responsibility for at least three other killings -- a British hostage abducted in Mali, a U.S. aid employee in Mauritania and a senior officer in the Mali army who was slain in his home.

"AQIM has become much stronger in Algeria and Mauritania, and the killing of the British hostage and the American is a message they are not only concentrating on Maghreb issues, they are now part of the global jihad," a French official told the Times.

Other intelligence officers say they believe the group is more interested in abducting westerners for ransom than in it is jihad.