A Story Of A Suicide Bomber. by Ech-chorouk

Muad Ibnu Jabal was the only suicide bomber who showed his face on “Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb’s website footage”. His name is Marwan Boudina . He was born in 1979. He reached the second year in Junior High School. He used to sell sardines and vegetables in Bash Jerrah market (eastern suburbs of Algiers)

His elder brother had lodged a complaint against him after he beat his sister and threatened his mother. He lived in a shantytown in. He used to be an addicted.

Echorouk’s reporter Nayla Berrahal went yesterday to Ben Boulaid farm in Bash Jerrah, where the suicide bomber Muad Bnu Jabal used to live. Nighbours did not want to show Marwans’ home to our reporter. Everyone there avoided to talk to us at the exception of grocery’s owner who tried to justify the act by the marginalization from which young people in that area are suffering. “Why didn’t he attack a popular market to cause hundreds of victims? », the grocery’s owner told Echorouk. “He targeted the government because he was full of hatred», the same man later added.

Another Marwan’s neighbour said: “no one excepted this to happen. He has recently been a mosque-goer. It seemed he was not involved in such activities.” The reporter asked him “did he talk about the war in Iraq or terrorism?” He answered: “everyone here talks about these issues”. Other young people took the floor and said that when someone is repressed, he would become a suicide bomber.

Yet and after some negotiations, one of Marwan’s neighbours accompanied the reporter to home of the Boudinas in this gloomy shantytown. The smell there was so bad. A 30-year-aged man showed up. He was reluctant to talk to the reporter but finally, he accepted to answer the reporter’s questions. He said his mother could not talk to the reporter because she was ill and shocked.

Marwane Boudina’s father got married with another woman and lived in Bourouba (Algiers). His mother used to work as a maid in a high school in Bash Jerrah. He did not finish his studies. He stopped at the second year in secondary school. Marwane joined a group of delinquents. In this farm many young people are drug addicts and alcoholic. Many of them are thieves, said Marwan’s brother.

After his adventures with the neghboudhood’s gangs, Marwan turned to sell fish, vegetables and fruits in Bash Jerrah unofficial market. He was hunt by the Police for illegal trade. He came back to meet his gang fellows every evening and used to take drugs with them. He also participated to settle accounts with other gangs. His brother complained a lot about him but he denied Marwan’s extremist tendency.

Noureddine Boudina (Marwan’s brother) said that his brother stole the sister’s jewels in 2005 and insulted all family members. “He was under the influence of drugs”, the later brother added. “I tried to stop him but he showed a big sword. I was horrified”, he said.

Thus, Noureddine lodged a complaint against him. Since then, Marwan did not show up. “I have been told that he was working in Bash Jerrah market” Noureddine told Ech-chorouk. In 2006, Marwan came to his home. He had a bear and was furious because he heard that his sister was working in a medical centre. “He damaged my music cassettes. He was strange with his bear. I did not understand why he changed so quickly” Marwan’s brother said.

He has been told later that Marwan frequented a mosque in Bourouba (Algiers) with some other young people.