GSPC facing financial collapse

ALGIERS, Algeria, July 7 (UPI) -- The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat is in the midst of a financial collapse due to pressure from Algerian security forces, sources say.

The Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC, morphed in 2007 into al-Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb at the behest of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

The group conducted a series of high-profile raids prior to its formal relationship with al-Qaida, kidnapping 32 European tourists in the Sahara in 2003.

A former GSPC commander, Hassan Hattab, recently denied the link to al-Qaida, saying he had moved toward reconciliation following a national effort led by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The newspaper The Daily Dawn, citing "well-informed sources," said the GSPC was on the verge of financial collapse due to the pressure by the central government.

The newspaper says the GSPC leadership has enacted strict budgetary controls in an effort to counteract government measures and declining numbers of kidnapping and racketeering.

The organization had allocated a monthly stipend to the families of imprisoned or "martyred" terrorists, but has now ordered its soldiers to answer for all expenses to alleviate declining revenue.