al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb - in massive double bomb attack in Algiers - UN hit
2 Bomb blasts have hit Central Algiers today.9:30am (0830 GMT).
1. In the Ben Aknoun district, near the supreme constitutional court.Security officials said the bus took the full force of the blast and was ripped apart, killing and injuring many of those (including students) on board.
2. Later at the United Nations United Nations Development Programme UNDP offices in the heavily policed Hydra neighbourhood where there were at least 12 UN staff killed.A residential building and the UNHCR headquarters across the road were also damaged - eye witnesses have reported a white van drove into the main UN offices then exploded.
Up to present a total of 67 dead have been recorded with many more wounded, injured.
Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni said the explosions had been caused by two car bombs, and that the one at the UN was triggered by a suicide bomber.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who made a state visit to Algeria last week, denounced what he described as these "barbaric, hateful and deeply cowardly acts."
POLITICAL VIOLENCE BY RADICALISED GROUPS IN 2007
A suicide bomber rammed a booby-trapped car into a convoy east of Algiers on September 21, wounding two French engineers and an Italian.
6 September: 22 die in bombing in Batna claimed by al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb -this was a suicide attack targeting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's convoy 00 other people were wounded.
8 September: 32 die in bombing in Dellys claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - this was said to be a suicide attack against a coastguard barracks and left a further 40 wounded. See Postman Patel post re this raid
Al Quaida strike again - Hunt is on for the peroxide bombs
July: Suicide bomber targeted a barracks and 10 soldiers were killed and 35 people wounded when a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosivesinto barracks near Bouira,
May: Dozens killed in run-up to elections, in fighting between military and militants
April: car bomb attacks on the government headquarters and a police station in Algiers killed 33 people and injured more than 220 and claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the first time the name was used (?) (SEE POSTMAN POST ON THIS BOMB HERE)
March: Three Algerians and a Russian killed in attack on gas pipeline workers - 3 Ukrainians and three Algerians were killed and five other people wounded in the bomb attack on their bus on March 5th at Hayoun, near Ain Defla in southern Algeria.The bus was carrying employees of tStroytransgaz , who were laying gas mains between Ain Defla, in the region of Medea, and Tiaret, 340 kilometers southwest of Algiers. SEE POST HERE
February: Seven simultaneous bombs killed six in the Kabylie region east of Algiers
Many of the recent blasts have been claimed al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb this appears to have evolved / morphed from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) but changed its name when it joined forces with al-Qaeda last year.
Lynx tracks ( documentary fillum maker) has useful pce from July especially reference to Fisk article about US base.
See also Russia arms Algeria ..again
3 comments:
CIA trying to topple Algeria's Bouteflika? - http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/
Bouteflika favours the formation of a Gas OPEC, including Russia, Iran, Qatar, Venezuela, and Algeria. The EU and USA oppose this. In 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Russia's Gazprom and Algeria's Sonatrach. The targets of 'al Qaeda' violence have been mainly poor Moslems plus one Russian.
Bouteflika is ill and regularly visits France for medical treatment - rumoured to be a cancer. Sarkozy visited recently but the big struggle is between Russia who are major arms suppliers and the US.
The UK have interests via BP who have major developments underway deep in the Sahara - plus major commitments to supplying LNG gas.
At preesent Bouteflika and his crew are happy to take evryhting that;'s thrown their way, money arms,and keep everyone wanting a slice of the action.
(26/6/08)
I see that David Veness has resigned over this. He was the (first ever) h Under-Secretary-General at the UN with the responsibility on global security, safety and anti-terrorism.
He has stated that he “was willing to shoulder full responsibility for any security lapses” that preceded the 'Al Queda' 'suicide bombing' of the UN Algiers office.
One would have thought that he'd be well-versed in all things terrorista, having been involved in the early days of Crevice, the roundup of Dhiren Barot's 'gang'. He could also have had a chin-wag with Peter Power sharing their expert knowledge at a Canadian Conference, the week following the July 7th attrocities.
Maybe he was 'sitting' on something (like he sat on a legal document 'suggesting that the Princess feared a plot to kill her in a car crash', during the Diana Inquest).
Look out where he goes to next....
Post a Comment