| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Russian, three Algerian workers killed in bomb attack in Ain Delfa |
| 2007-03-05 |
| Three Algerians and a Russian citizen were killed in a bomb attack near Ain Defla, 130km southwest of Algiers on Saturday (March 2nd). The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement confirming that one Russian citizen was killed and another injured when a convoy transporting "21 Stroitransgaz specialists [and] Algerian gendarmes was hit by two road bombs". At least five workers were injured, including two Ukrainian nationals. The Russian company is laying gas mains between Ain Defla and the neighbouring region of Medea. There was no immediate claim for the attack, which was the second against foreigners in Algeria, after a homemade bomb hit a bus belonging to US construction company Brown Root and Condor on December 11th, killing the Algerian driver and wounding nine people. The December attack was claimed by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, now operating under the name Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. UPDATE: Algiers, 5 March (AKI) - The Organisation of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Monday claimed responsibility for two weekend attacks which killed eleven people in a message posted to Islamic fundamentalist internet sites. The Algerian group, known as the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) before it pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda last year, drafted a statement, 'Attacks on Russians and successes of the Mujahidin against apostates', saying it had successfully carried out an attack against "Russian unfaithful" - killing three Algerians and a Russian working for Russia's company Stroitransgaz - and a deadly attack against Algerian policemen Sunday. Seven police officers died and another was wounded Sunday when their cars were ambushed near Beni Yeni in the eastern Kabylie region. |
| Posted by:Fred |