Algeria bomb attack comes amid heightened security

2007-09-16

Although no group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Zemmouri that left 3 dead, Algerian authorities have vowed to defeat terrorism and increase security during the month of Ramadan.

By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 16/09/07

[Getty Images] Security forces have bolstered police forces and established check points at entrances to the city.

Three people were killed and five injured after a homemade bomb exploded Friday (September 14th) near a police compound in the town of Zemmouri, 50km east of Algiers. The bomb was placed in a plastic bag at the entrance to a compound where police officers and their families live.

Local media sources said two people had to have their legs amputated after the explosion. No group has claimed the responsibility for the attack.

The attack took place 30 minutes before iftar, when Muslims break their fast, and on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan. It came a week after 57 people were killed in separate suicide bombings in the towns of Dellys and Batna. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the former Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, claimed responsibility for the two earlier attacks.

The terrorist attack coincided with a statement by Ali Tounsi, the general director of national security, in which he did not rule out terrorist attacks during the month of Ramadan. "We can expect terrorist and suicide attacks since this is the easiest method to commit murder," he said, adding that resorting to this style of attacks is evidence of the terrorists' "weakness".

Noting that a video tape released last week by fugitive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden did not contain references to attacks on Algerian soil, Tounsi said Algerian terrorist groups have been using al-Qaeda's name to stir media attention and to lure more recruits.

Tounsi was quoted as saying by the Liberté that the terrorist attacks in recent weeks will not be the last. He vowed to defeat terrorism by increasing security and through the help of Algerian citizens. He said a new security strategy was in place and is achieving positive results on the ground.

Security forces have bolstered police forces in the capital and set up check points at entrances to the city to monitor the movement of cars. Public places and markets have come under police surveillance, as have mosques, where Tounsi said an operation is being carried out to stop imams from recruiting young Algerians. The September 8th attack in Dellys was carried out by 15-year old Nabil Belkacemi, who was recruited by a local imam in Algiers' L'approval neighbourhood. Analysts believe recruiting teenagers marks a new low in al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb's strategy, as many of the organisation's members have surrendered or been killed by security forces. Teenagers are lured with promises of money and are told they will be sent to fight in Iraq. Once they discover the falsehood of the recruiters' claims, the youngsters are forced to go on suicide missions in Algeria, or face the threat of their families being murdered.

National Assembly deputy for the Boumerdès region, Ibrahim Kara Ali, said the latest attack speaks to the desperation of the terrorist groups. In a statement to Magharebia, he said the attack targets President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's national reconciliation policy and aims to turn the clock back to Algeria's security crisis of the 1990s.