Maghreb

These murders sparked mass demonstration from outraged Tunisians, two years after the pro-democracy Arab Spring uprising had begun in the country and spread elsewhere in the Maghreb and Middle East.

Borders between the Maghreb region's two most populous nations have been kept closed since 1994, despite repeated calls by Morocco in recent years for their reopening.

In Central America, the Persian Gulf, the Maghreb, the Balkans and Central Asia, successive administrations embarked on a series of interventions that rarely produced any long-term successes, while exacting staggering cumulative costs.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said at the time it had kidnapped the couple.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb then said it had kidnapped the couple and would release the woman unconditionally because of public pressure and guidance from leaders not to involve women in war.