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| Africa North |
| Algeria to 'double' anti-terror forces: interior minister |
| 2008-01-09 |
| Algeria is to double the numbers of anti-terror security forces following a raft of terrorist attacks in recent months, Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni said Tuesday. "The plan for strengthening our security services, begun in 2005, is now in a phase of acceleration, which will allow security services to double their numbers," said Zerhouni on the sidelines of a visit by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to the country's Saharan Tamanrasset region. A series of attacks in recent months blamed on Islamist militants have destabilised the North African country, which waged a bitter civil war against Islamists in the 1990s that left more than 150,000 people dead. Zerhouni added that "extraordinary" security measures had been installed in the Sahara regions, "notably at airports and other sensitive sites." Djanet airport in the Algerian Sahara was the scene of an attack on a military transport plane in November, according to press reports. There was no claim of responsibility, and official sources have yet to confirm the attack -- which reportedly claimed no victims -- took place. Zerhouni said that recent suicide bombings in Algeria were "spectacular terrorist attacks," adding that "terrorist groups choose easy methods in their attacks." |
| Posted by:Fred |