Djamel Zitouni (5 January 1964-16 July 1996) was the leader of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) during the Algerian Civil War.
Biography[]
Djamel Zitouni was born on 5 January 1964 in Birkhadem, Algiers, Algeria to a family of Sunni Muslim Algerians. Zitouni was the son of a chicken seller, and in 1980 he was expelled from college for poor academic performance, although he could speak both Arabic and French. In the early 1980s he attended Takfir wal-Hijra meetings, and in 1987 he joined the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). In 1992 he was detained in a camp in southern Algeria during the Algerian Civil War, and after his release in 1993 he joined the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). On 27 October 1994 he succeeded Cherif Gousmi as GIA leader, and he was responsible for a series of terrorist attacks. Musicians, sportsmen, and unveiled women were killed by the GIA, car bombings occurred in both Algeria and France, and Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked in December 1994 before the French special forces killed the four hijackers. In 1995, he threatened to kill anyone who voted in the presidential elections, but internal dissent was rife when the pious middle class voted. On 16 July 1996 he was killed by rogue Islamists at the town of Tamesguida, and Antar Zouabri took over the group.