Reuters: Al Qaeda in N. Africa making millions in kidnapping

BERLIN (Reuters) – October 2, 2012 – Islamist militants are increasingly funding themselves through kidnapping, with al Qaeda’s north African wing likely to have brought in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms in the past few years, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.

The United States estimates militant organisations received $120 million in ransoms over the past decade, including to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in recent years, said David Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

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