ALGERIA: Explosions near police stations in Algeria kill six.

Record ID: 357111

  • Title: ALGERIA: Explosions near police stations in Algeria kill six.
  • Date: 13th February 2007
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE COFFEE SHOP "ESPOIR" (Arabic for 'Hope') DESTROYED BY THE EXPLOSION
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACRVWX6UC41UP0R9X0V1Z61GYQ
  • Story Text: Seven bombs went off almost simultaneously in Algeria on Tuesday, killing six people, in an elaborate assault by suspected Islamist rebels.

    An Interior Ministry statement said six people, including two members of the security forces, were killed in seven attacks in the Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou districts east of Algiers, on Tuesday (February 13).
    Thirteen people were wounded, including 10 members of the security forces, the ministry said, adding that five of the seven bombs were rigged in vehicles.
    Four people were killed in Si Mustafa village while two were killed in Meklaa, it said. Other bombs blasted Draa Benkheda, Meklaa, Illoula Oumalou and Souk El Had, which was hit twice.
    Residents in Si Mustapha said the explosion in their village took place as they were sleeping or opening their shops.
    "We just opened the coffee shop, it was around 4:15 (0315GMT) in the morning, until we heard an explosion and here is the result. There was a car passing nearby with four people inside, the explosion threw it onto a tree and we saw them dying in front of us," said Samis, a resident of Si Mustafa village close to Boumerdes town 50 km (30 miles) east of Algiers.
    Pools of blood lay in the gutter of the main road.
    "It was around 4:00 early in the morning. We were sleeping. There was a terrible sound and the house moved. I thought that was an earthquake until the moment when the house broke down upon our heads. We protected ourselves and escaped. Only my brother got an injury on his head," said Fatima, clearing debris from her kitchen.
    In Draa Benkheda, a resident who declined to be identified said he saw several presumed attackers filming the immediate aftermath of the blast.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but residents said they suspected a group of Islamist rebels who have aligned themselves with al Qaeda and stepped up a campaign of bombings and ambushes in recent months.
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