"The Supreme Court has upheld a request by the General Prosecutor's Office to acknowledge the international organization al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb a terrorist organization and ban its activities in Russia," the office said on its website.
Based on the court's decision, the organization will be put on the federal list of terrorist organizations.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, is an Islamist militant organization aiming to overthrow the Algerian government and establish Islamist rule. The group targets Algerian, U.S. and French nationals and facilities, and has been classified a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU.
The organization claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in March 2007, which killed one Russian and several Algerian nationals when a roadside bomb went off 130 kilometers from the Algerian capital as gas pipeline construction workers were returning by bus to their base camp. The group said the attack was an act of retribution to those Russians waging war against Islam in Chechnya.
