Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for Naciria attack
2008-01-03
After two deadly bombings in Algiers last month, al-Qaeda terrorists began 2008 with another suicide attack east of the capital. Algerian authorities arrested the mastermind behind the April 11th attack.
Boualam Senhadji in Algiers contributed to this report – 03/01/08
 [Getty Images] Algerian army forces immediately restricted Naciria following the attack |
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's (January 2nd) suicide bombing in Algeria that killed five people and injured 20 others, according to the latest official figures. At 6:45 am, a small truck laden with explosives drove at high speed towards a police station in Naciria, a small town east of Algiers in the wilaya of Boumerdès. The driver reportedly detonated the Toyota Hilux after he was ordered to stop by three policemen.
In a statement aired by Al Arabiya television, al-Qaeda's Maghreb wing spokesman Salah Abou Mohammad said the truck that targeted the police station in Naciria carried at least 500 kg of explosives.
A 10-year-old girl on her way to buy milk was among those killed by the blast, Echourouk reported. Most of the victims were rushed to a hospital in Algiers, while several other casualties were treated at the Bordj-Menael hospital in Boumerdès. Four of the injured who were taken to a hospital in Algiers are listed in critical condition.
The front of the police station was badly damaged by the force of the blast, which could be heard tens of kilometres away.
Algerian army forces immediately restricted Naciria and began conducting military operations in nearby forests. The targeted area is adjacent to Sid Ali Bounab, a reported stronghold for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
France strongly condemned the suicide attack. French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said, "The French authorities wish to reaffirm their solidarity with the Algerian authorities in their fight against terrorism". She added that France expressed its deepest sympathy to "the Algerian authorities as well as [to] the families of the victims".
The attack in Naciria comes less than three weeks after the double suicide car bomb attack in Algiers on December 11th which targeted the Constitutional Court and offices of the UN. The attacks killed 41 people – 17 of them UN workers – and injured dozens of others. Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Algerian authorities have stepped up security operations in the capital and across the country this week. Police forces have been redeployed around official institutions, diplomatic missions and international agencies in the capital. Security was also heightened around government offices in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Algerian security forces have arrested a 28-year-old man suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and buying explosives for two attacks on April 11th which killed 33 people, the daily Le Soir reported Wednesday. The unidentified suspect was seized at his Algiers home Saturday night.
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amine Posted 2008-01-03
I am truly sad to see something like this. This is a loss for everyone, the citizens whom it happened to and all of Algeria. May God guide them or else take them away.
kitous35 Posted 2008-01-04
Your journalist by the name of Senhadji is truly a professional. Thank you for him and thank you for Magharebia.
ح.ش Posted 2008-01-06
Everything that is happening in Algeria is the result of lack of communication between generations, and nonchalance to the opinions of young people without allowing them to emerge on the political arena. It is known that the average age of the political class is 65, this means that there is a group which has been in total control of the matters of the country since independence. This makes some political discrimination, if the proper meaning of the word, this is on the political side, as to the economic….
المجاهد Posted 2008-01-08
I'm very sad because it wasn't me who committed this act.
MANABIL Posted 2008-01-10
Perhaps Mr. Senhadji is a great journalist, but I do not understand why he praised our security services. Personally, I see too many police during the day, but after 6 p.m. I do not see a single one; the country is left to its own devices. Even during the day, the police are only there to block traffic and annoy people. Let us be reasonable and not pay tribute where it is not due. The powers that be really need to be on the move to annihilate terrorism and its enclaves in Algeria. Find the source of the problem. High-level officials are fattening themselves off oil kickbacks while the little people are dying of hunger. The dinar fell to devaluation almost twenty years ago and Algeria’s purchasing value has dropped by ten thanks to our nutty economists and economic planners. They were trying to satisfy the IMF and the World Bank with total disregard for the people. If this isn’t the case, then why is it that a barrel is worth $100 while the 2008 financial laws are still grounded at $19? The people are by no means profiting from this windfall. You only have to take a look at the latest price increases in food staples. It is clear that the people are hostage to the leaders’ management. Gentlemen, a little bit of consideration for the hungry people whom you enslave.
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