E/CN.4/2003/66/Add.1 page 7 22. Militant extremists numbered around 25,000 in the 1990s; there are, however, probably no more than a few hundred left, most of them over 30, and the supply of post-teenage replacements is no longer so abundant as it was. Does that mean that Islamist terrorism in Algeria is a spent force? Some clues - which need to be viewed with a good deal of caution deserve attention. 23. Five terrorist groups, with a collective membership of about 600, are said to be still active: − GIA, with about 60 men led by Ouakali Rachid, the successor to Antar Zouabri, mount operations (very bloody ones, it appears) in the Mitidja plain and elsewhere; − The Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC) is reported to have about 350 men under the leadership of Hassan Hattab and to be active mainly in the Boumerdès and Bouira regions and in Kabylie. According to the army this well-organized group has links to al-Qa’idah; − Houmat ed-Da’wa Salafiya is supposed to have about 70 men; led by a veteran of the fighting in Afghanistan, Slim Al Afghani, it operates chiefly to the west of Algiers and is said to have links to al-Qa’idah; − The Groupe salafiste pour le djihad is said to have about 60 men led by Abdelkader Souane; − The Groupe salafiste combatant is also thought to have about 60 men, led by Yahia Djouadi. 24. The weakening of Islamist groups is attributed to an improving economic situation, the opportunities that power affords, and resistance within society - especially from the elites in favour of freedom and democracy - but also action by the forces of law and order, so much so that the underground groups seem to have lost the attraction they used to exercise over many young people. 25. During the 1990s, over 15,000 Islamists are said to have been eliminated by the security forces; over 6,000 are said to have recanted, and nearly 30,000 were arrested and put on trial. 26. Nonetheless, Islamist groups continue to organize massacres and other violent operations. In general, however, security conditions in Algeria have improved markedly compared with 10 years ago. It is not certain that extremism and terrorism will soon vanish from Algeria, but they are already beginning to look like things of the past. 4. The drive to restore the authority of the State 27. Most of the officials interviewed said that the Algerian authorities, confident of their status after being returned to power in the 1999 presidential poll and the municipal and