2 bombings in Algiers kill 17, news agency says
Prime minister uninjured after one bomb reportedly targets his office
msnbc.msn.com
Updated: 33 minutes ago
ALGIERS, Algeria - Bombs killed 17 people in Algiers Wednesday, with one of them targeting the prime minister’s headquarters at the center of the Algerian capital, the official APS news agency said.
Nine people were killed in the blast at Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem’s headquarters, APS said, adding 32 people were wounded.
A second bomb hit Bab Ezzouar on the city’s eastern outskirts, killing eight and wounding 50, it said.
Police sources told Reuters the attack on the government building was a suicide bombing.
Dozens of ambulances converged on the upscale residential neighborhood in the center of the Algerian capital as thousands of people poured onto the streets and survivors were led from the building.
‘Criminal and cowardly act’
Belkhadem, who was not harmed, was quoted by the official Algerian news agency APS as calling the attack a “criminal and cowardly act.”
The blast gouged a gapping hole in the six-story government building, shattering windows and showering rubble onto cars for blocks around.
“At first I thought it was an earthquake,” said lawyer Tahar bin Taleb. “My wife called me a few moments later crying and shouting. I ran home to find all the mirrors and windows in the house were shattered.”
Wednesday’s attack was the first major bombing in central Algiers in several years.
Violence in Algeria has been on the rise since the main guerrilla group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, adopted a new name in January and deepened its ties to al-Qaida.
The group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly bombings targeting security forces and foreigners, and Algerian troops and militants have clashed. |
