WORLD> Africa
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WORLD> Africa
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New bomb attacks in Algeria killed 12
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-21 10:27 Wednesday's two car bombs were triggered by remote control. The first hit a regional military command and injured four soldiers in Bouira, some 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital, the state-run APS news agency reported. A minute later, at least 12 people died and 27 were wounded when a second bomb exploded next to a nearby downtown hotel. Most of the victims were traveling in a bus that passed in front of the hotel, APS said.
All those who died and about 15 of the wounded were Algerian employees of SNC Lavalin, a Montreal-based engineering and construction firm, the company said in a statement. They were on the bus headed to work on a water treatment plant and distribution project.The number of injured was from the APs report. Most victims were civilians traveling in a bus that passed in front of the hotel. Local hospital officials said they were workers from a construction company building a dam nearby. The military barracks were most damaged. "Parts of the walls have fallen off, the fence is destroyed, cars are buried under the rubble," Abdellah Debbache, the Bouira correspondent of Algeria's Liberte newspaper, told The Associated Press by telephone. A day earlier, a suicide bombing some 28 miles (45 kilometers) away in Les Issers killed 43 people in Algeria's biggest attack since the 1990s. The bomber targeted young students lining up to apply at a police academy, and at least 45 were injured. "Terrorism: is the State powerless?" asked a large headline on the independent El Watan newspaper's cover, which carried a single, large photograph of the bloodbath. |
