With its endless expanse of desolate sands, the Western Sahara might not seem worth fighting over. But the thinly populated, Italy-sized region on Africa's northwest coast is at the heart of a three-decade-long dispute that, U.S. officials and analysts say, inhibits the fight against terrorism across North Africa, according to AP. Any doubts about the seriousness of the terrorist problem in the region were undercut by attacks in Morocco, on Tuesday and Saturday, and Algeria, on Wednesday. In the latest attack, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Casablanca near an American cultural center. The incidents followed expressions of interest by al-Qaida in expanding its activities in the area. It is a region that offers relatively easy access to potential targets across the Mediterranean in Europe. Detection of Muslim militants can be difficult in North Africa, with its undulating deserts and majestic mountains. For three decades Morocco and Algeria have been divided over the phosphate-rich Western Sahara. Morocco claims sovereignty in the territory. Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front rebels, who are based in Algeria, a short distance from the Western Saharan border. -- SPA
