Canada>Canada betamethasone sodium The oldest of the Islamist militant groups operating in North Africa, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) came into being in 2005 when it changed its name from the Algerian Salafi Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) and announced its allegiance to Osama Bin Laden. The GSPC was founded in 1998 following the dismantling of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) - the militant group that fought the Algerian government during the 1990s.