The crackdown, in turn, fuelled the growth of an insurgency by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
His early role in what would become Isis led naturally to the senior position he now occupies within a revitalised insurgency that has spilled across the border into Syria.
Syria's links to the Sunni insurgency in Iraq had been regularly raised by US officials in Baghdad and by the Iraqi government.
And over time, some folks who were Ba'athists became more and more Islamist and the insurgency raged.
The air strike on Tuesday came while Niger is involved in a regional offensive against Boko Haram fighters, who have waged a six-year insurgency that has killed more than 13,000 people.
Militants have waged an insurgency in the Sinai peninsular since Morsi was ousted, killing more than 100 police officers and soldiers.
The Russian region of Dagestan, where the attack took place, has a long-running Islamist insurgency.
African leaders have agreed to send 7,500 troops to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in north-east Nigeria as the international community, including long-time foes the US and Iran, rallied against the militants.
Earlier on Wednesday the Farc energetically defended the negotiations aimed at ending a half-century insurgency.
That promise was not fulfilled, and President al-Maliki's repression of Sunni Arabs is now driving an insurgency against his rule, from which Isis is gaining.
"The risk he runs, however, is that the insurgency is not really defeated, only disrupted temporarily and for political posturing," he said.
