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Source: http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/06/wsaha06.xml
U.S. Extends War on Islamic Terror to Sahara Desert
(Telegraph-UK) Damien McElroy - America has launched a secret war against Islamic terrorists across the southern Sahara after it discovered that a group linked to al-Qaeda bought heavy weapons using the proceeds of a ransom deal with the German government. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat has spent about £4 million, which it received in return for releasing 17 European tourists kidnapped last year, on surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine-guns, and mortars. Major Sarah Kerwin of the U.S. Army's European Command, which is responsible for north and west Africa, said: "There are clear indications that Muslim extremists from the Middle East and Afghanistan have moved into these massive open spaces." American special forces are being deployed discreetly in the region - which covers eight countries - to train, advise, and equip pro-U.S. government troops.