The Al Qaeda terrorist network is exploiting the Sahara Desert in Algeria to train terrorists and spread its influence throughout the continent, the London Times reported. "A handful of groups have become ensconced there, largely unobserved, and are strengthening [Osama] Bin Laden's terrorist network," an intelligence agent told the newspaper.
Other terrorist gangs have merged with Al Qaeda and threaten Tunisia and Algeria, employing tactics that were used against coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Times said that Western nations are concerned over the speed at which the group is re-organizing, using Internet to download training videos and recruit terrorists from Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritania and Libya, among other countries.