Algeria bombing kills 43 - official

19 Aug 2008 09:49:10 GMT

ALGIERS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A bomb attack east of Algiers on Tuesday killed 43 people and wounded 38, the Algerian interior ministry said, in one of the bloodiest incidents in years in the OPEC member state.

A ministry statement carried by the official APS news agency, said the attack targeted a paramilitary gendarmerie training school at Issers, 55 km (34 miles) east of the capital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

In recent months the mountainous region east of Algiers has seen numerous attacks by al Qaeda's north Africa wing, which is fighting to set up purist Islamic rule in the north African country, a major oil and gas supplier to Europe.

[...]

Algeria, an important supplier of gas to Europe, is emerging from more than a decade of conflict that began when in 1992 the military-backed government scrapped legislative elections a radical Islamic party was poised to win.

About 150,000 people have died during the ensuing violence.

'Radical' I assume, means 'not controlled by Jews'.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LJ413346.htm

Suicide attack at Algerian police academy kills 43

1 hour, 3 minutes ago

ALGIERS, Algeria - A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-rigged car into a police academy as recruits lined up to register for classes, killing at least 43 people. It was the deadliest attack in recent years in the North African country.

The Interior Ministry said 42 civilians and a police officer were killed in the attack early Tuesday in the town of Les Issers, some 35 miles east of the capital, Algiers, the state-run APS news agency said.

The blast ripped off parts of the policy academy's roof, and damaged its facade. Photos transmitted by APS showed bodies wrapped in yellow plastic bags or blankets lying amid the rubble. Nearby houses and passing cars were also damaged.

Witnesses said all roads within two miles of Les Issers were blocked and cell phone networks were scrambled as police closed off the area.

[...]

The European Union said it "very firmly condemns the terrorist acts that have just claimed so many lives." The Algerian people are "once again victims of blind and barbaric terrorist violence," said a statement issued by France, T.J.B. the current president of the 27-nation bloc.



http://i34.tinypic.com/o7j4g7.jpg

This has been a bad day for Sarko. :)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_re_af/algeria_suicide_attack;_ylt=AsJ.CCgfzglKP2cU8aPE.ECZsdEF