Recently, the self-proclaimed Jund Al-Khilafah in Syria group has executed a French citizen. Algeria feels strongly against jihad. It is a shame that Algerian men who have been blinded by ISIL were involved in such an incident. Algeria takes a firm stance against the actions undertaken by ISIL.
Algeria has been building strong relationships with many of its European neighbors to the north. The implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy has resulted in us developing closer ties to many European powers. We stand by our European allies in these dangerous times. However, Algeria is not yet ready to commit military resources towards directly fighting ISIS. Algeria must deal with domestic terrorism issues first before going through with any plan to fight ISIS. Even though these domestic terrorist groups have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi,
Algeria has built up a military capable of defending its people. We have the second strongest military in North Africa, and we maintain arms deals with European powers. We have a standing army of about 150,000 soldiers, with another 150,000 in reserve. Algeria also has multiple paramilitary wings, including approximately 200,000 additional personnel. We are capable of joining the international coalition in airstrikes against Syria due to our deals with Russia. Russia, throughout the years, has sold us multiple bombers and fighter jets, allowing us to hit ground targets from above.