Wednesday, April 11, 2007
This morning, Algiers, the capital of Algeria, was targeted by two deadly terrorist bombings. The first target was the Government Palace, the main offices of the government, located in downtown Algiers, killing twelve people and wounding 118, according to civil defense. Several cars were burned out, while the Government Palace sustained some heavy damage, as well as the rest of the neighborhood. The other target was the police station of Bab Ezzouar, east of Algiers, causing the death of elven people and wounding 44 others. Civil defense authorities and witnesses say that these bombings were carried out by suicide bombers.
In an Internet statement, responsibility for the attacks was claimed by al-Qaeda group in the Maghreb, known formerly as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, renamed in January 2007 to indicate affiliation with al-Qaeda. The website with the claim showed photos of the purported bombers, identified as Muadh bin Jabal, al-Zubair Abu Sajda, and Abu Dajjana.
This attack follows a series of smaller-scale bombings that took place in December 2006 and March 2007.