Armed Islamic Group of Algeria
He returned in 1993 to his native Algeria. There, he joined the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), an extremist Islamist organisation dedicated to overthrowing the Algerian government and replacing it with an Islamic state. He fought in the long and bloody Algerian Civil War to overthrow the Algerian government. The GIA massacred civilians, sometimes wiping out entire villages. Belmokhtar's fierce reputation earned him prestige with the GIA, and he quickly rose to the rank of commander. However, as the GIA began to splinter and fall apart in the late 1990s, Belmokhtar left the organization.