Al-Qaeda

French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks to the press at the Elysee Palace, on July 26, 2010 in Paris, after a security and defence council meeting following the death announced by Al Qaeda of the French hostage Michel Germaneau. Sarkozy confirmed that a 78-year-old French hostage held by Al-Qaeda's North African arm was dead and condemned his murder as a 'barbarous' act. 'I condemn this barbarous act, this odious act which has put an end to the life of an innocent man,' he said in a television address after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said it killed the hostage to avenge a failed rescue attempt.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves after he spoke to the press at the Elysee Palace, on July 26, 2010 in Paris, following a security and defence council meeting following the death announced by Al Qaeda of the French hostage Michel Germaneau. Sarkozy confirmed that a 78-year-old French hostage held by Al-Qaeda's North African arm was dead and condemned his murder as a 'barbarous' act. 'I condemn this barbarous act, this odious act which has put an end to the life of an innocent man,' he said in a television address after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said it killed the hostage to avenge a failed rescue attempt.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: A soldier stands in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: Soldiers stand in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: Police stand in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: A soldier stands in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: Soldiers stand in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

Daily life in the streets of Arlit on September 27, 2010. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove poses for a photograph during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

Nigerien soldiers patrol on the road between Agadez and Arlit on September 27, 2010 near Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

A British Metropolitan police officer stops a car in central London on October 5, 2010. With anti-terror police currently on high alert across Europe, random stops and increased patrols have been evident. Britain and the United States issued a travel alert for its citizens earlier this week, amid growing fears of a major Al-Qaeda attack on landmark sites in Europe. Tokyo joined Washington and London in issuing an alert warning of 'possible terrorist attack' by Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens travelling in Europe. The US State Department said in its alert on Sunday that attackers may use 'a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests' in Europe. Britain immediately backed the US alert and warned its own citizens of a 'high threat of terrorism' in France and Germany.

Niger gendarmes patrol in Ingall, northern Niger, on September 25, 2010. After the kidnapping of seven expatriates in mid-September, Niger has beefed up its military presence in the north, but one of the world's poorest countries faces a huge challenge tackling Al-Qaeda. The mining town of Arlit - where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on September 16 kidnapped five French nationals, a Madagascan and a Togolese - is now under tight military surveillance, residents said.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

A man who was injured by a mortar round in Mogadishu is loaded into a pick-up truck on September 16, 2010. Somali insurgents fired mortar rounds Thursday at government buildings in Mogadishu, sparking an exchange that killed at least 12 civilians and wounded dozens, medics and officials said. Insurgents, led by the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab group, fired several mortar rounds at the parliament building and the presidential compound, drawing retaliatory fire from the African Union force (AMISOM) protecting the Western-backed transitional administration. The international peacekeeping force in Somalia may need to be almost trebled in coming months to 20,000 troops because of the increased insurgent threat, a UN envoy said Thursday. The envoy, Augustine Mahiga, told the UN Security Council that more international action is needed to stop foreign fighters and weapons getting into Somalia to help the Al-Qaeda Sheban militia.

A man cycles past a government building in a street of Arlit on September 27, 2010. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove gestures as he speaks during an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

A resident walks past France's state-owned nuclear giant Areva's uranium symbol on September 27, 2010 in village near Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Plant equipment is pictured at France's state-owned nuclear giant Areva's uranium mine on September 26, 2010 in Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The entrance to France's state-owned nuclear giant Areva's uranium mine on September 26, 2010 in Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Nigerien soldiers patrol on the road between Agadez and Arlit on September 27, 2010 near Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Nigerien soldiers patrol on the road between Agadez and Arlit on September 27, 2010 near Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Nigerien soldiers patrol on the road between Agadez and Arlit on September 27, 2010 near Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove poses for a picture prior to an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

Plant equipment is pictured at France's state-owned nuclear giant Areva's uranium mine on September 26, 2010 in Arlit. Gunmen seized seven prisoners, five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan, that are being held by Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a mountain stronghold in north Mali, according to a Malian source confirmed by French officials in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger. Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from the Sahel region were meeting on September 26, 2010 in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove poses for a picture prior to an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove poses for a picture prior to an interview on October 18, 2010 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. New warnings of an Al-Qaeda plot in Europe show the terror threat is present but governments must be careful not to alarm people unnecessarily, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said. Gilles de Kerchove, who coordinates EU terrorism policy, said a French government announcement that Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch was targetting Europe confirms that the West faces a wide range of terror threats.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: Soldier stand in guard in front of Notre Dame Cathedral on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: A soldier stands guard in front of the Eiffel Tower on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

PARIS - OCTOBER 18: Soldiers stand guard in front of the Eiffel Tower on October 18, 2010 in Paris, France. France has been warned by Saudi Arabia that it is a potential target for an al-Qaeda attack.

Pakistani tribal militias gather on the arrival of troops in Damadola in the Bajaur tribal region on March 2, 2010. Pakistan's army said it had captured a key Taliban and Al-Qaeda complex dug into Rocky Mountains close to the Afghan border after killing 75 local and foreign militants. Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, which one general said numbered 156 caves developed over five to seven years, and carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped peaks in eastern Afghanistan.

Iraqis look at a vehicules destroyed when a car bomb exploded on April 23, 2010 in the impoverished Baghdad district of Sadr City. A series of five car bombs, three during prayers at Shiite mosques in Baghdad, and other attacks across Iraq killed 58 people, days after the government said Al-Qaeda was on the run.

Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure (L, standing in car) and Malian Chief-of-Staff Gabriel Poudiougou (R, standing in car) review troops on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure (L, standing in car) and Malian Chief-of-Staff Gabriel Poudiougou (R, standing in car) talk after reviewing troops on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure (L) reviews troops on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure (L) greets his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby (C) and Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou N'Guesso (R) upon his arrival in the official tribune before a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malien President Amadou Toumani Toure (R) and Lybian President Mouammar Kadhafi (L) sit in the official stand as they watch a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malien President Amadou Toumani Toure (R) and Lybian President Mouammar Kadhafi (L) sit in the official stand as they watch a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Military anti-aircraft guns are driven past the official stand during a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malien soldiers march past the official stand during a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

Malian security forces patrol during a military parade on September 22, 2010 in Bamako during celebrations marking 50 years of independence from France. The celebrations came amid a hostage crisis, with Al-Qaeda militants holding seven foreigners captive, five of them French, in the north of the country.

A man passes in front of a group of Nigerian soldiers near an official building in Agadez, northern Niger, on September 24, 2010, one week after the kidnapping of a group of expatriate workers employed by the French group Areva by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Arlit, Niger.

Pictured is the sign for a closed travel agency in Agadez, a tourist city in northern Niger, on September 24, 2010. Charter flights to the city have been cancelled since the kidnapping of a group of expatriate workers employed by the French group Areva by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Arlit, Niger, one week ago.

A arts and crafts seller stands in front of the Old Mosque of Agadez in the northern Niger tourist city on September 24, 2010. Charter flights to the city have been cancelled since the kidnapping of a group of expatriate workers employed by the French group Areva by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Arlit, Niger, one week ago.

A Nigerien herdsman looks after his flock of goats at a watering hole near Agadez, a tourist city in northern Niger, on September 24, 2010. Charter flights to the city have been cancelled since the kidnapping of a group of expatriate workers employed by the French group Areva by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Arlit, Niger, one week ago.

A man passes in front of a group of Nigerien soldiers near an official building in Agadez, northern Niger, on September 24, 2010, one week after the kidnapping of a group of expatriate workers employed by the French group Areva by the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) in Arlit, Niger.