ALGIERS, Algeria — A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy Tuesday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the 1990s.
A security official said the attacker rammed the car into youths waiting to register at the police academy and detonated the load of explosives.
Witnesses said the blast in the town of Les Issers, about 35 miles east of Algiers, tore a 3-foot-deep crater in the road, ripped off parts of the police academy’s roof and damaged much of its facade and nearby buildings.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but an al-Qaida affiliate previously said it was behind a series of bombings over the past two years in this North African country that has important oil and natural gas fields.
Violence has dramatically increased since 2006, when Algeria’s last big extremist group left over from a quieted insurgency in the 1990s renamed itself Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa and joined Osama bin Laden’s network.
Suicide attacks were unheard of in Algeria before the group linked up with al-Qaida.
Algeria’s insurgency broke out in 1992 after the army canceled the second round of legislative elections that an Islamist party was expected to win. The ensuing conflict killed up to 200,000 people, with massacres blamed on both sides.
Mohsen-Finan said militants are now careful to avoid hitting civilians because they need popular support.
“For extremists to target police is like hitting a symbol of repression. It can help them rally a segment of the population,” she said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
