U.S. commander sees al Qaeda Africa group strengthening

By Emma Farge DAKAR (Reuters) - Two high-profile strikes in West Africa since November by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) could further strengthen the Islamist militant group, a U.S. commander for North and West Africa said. AQIM, a militant group that emerged from the Algerian civil war in the 1990s and is now mostly north Mali-based, is emerging from a period of near dormancy marked by factional infighting. The group, linked to veteran jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claimed two hotel sieg