Bomb kills 43, wounds 45 at Algerian military academy
The bombing follows several recent attacks by al Qaeda's
north African wing, but there was no immediate claim of
responsibility.
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ALGERIA: A bomb at an Algerian military academy killed 43 people and
wounded 45 on Tuesday, the interior ministry said, one of the bloodiest
incidents in years in the OPEC member state.
A ministry statement said the target of the attack was the
gendarmerie training school at Issers, 55 km (34 miles) east of the
capital Algiers. It said 42 of the dead were civilians and one of the
dead and 13 of the wounded were gendarmes - armed paramilitary soldiers.
The bombing follows several recent attacks by al Qaeda's north
African wing, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The local al Qaeda affiliate has claimed several attacks including
the twin suicide bombings of U.N. offices and a court building in
Algiers in December 2007 which killed 41 people. Witnesses said
Tuesday's attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who rammed his car
into a group of prospective recruits lining up to get into the school
for qualifying exams.
"Most of the dead were young men aged between 18 and 20. They were in
line waiting to enter the school for recruiting exams when they were
mowed down by the blast," a witness said.
Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb is the most effective
rebel group in the country of 34 million, a major oil and gas supplier
to Europe which is emerging from more than a decade of conflict with
Islamist rebels.
Issers, Wednesday,Reuters
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