African al-Qaida group claims responsibility for deadly attack

AL-QAIDA’S north African affiliate claimed responsibility yesterday for a car bombing in Algeria that killed 30 coast guard officers and another recent blast that ripped through a crowd waiting for the president.

In Saturday’s blast, explosives planted in a van ripped through barracks in the northern coastal town of Dellys, about 50km from the capital Algiers. The bombing appeared timed to kill as many officers as possible when they were grouped together to raise the flag.

Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility in a statement posted on the group’s website.

The group said it also was behind a blast on Thursday that killed at least 22 in eastern Algeria. “We swear to God to continue sacrificing our lives until you stop supporting the crusaders in their war, apply the Islamic tenet and stop your war against God’s religion,” the group said in the statement.

Tens of thousands of Algerians took part in protests in Algiers against terrorism yesterday.

Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa has carried out a spate of recent bombings that have shattered the government’s efforts — successful until recently — to restore calm after a 15-year Islamic insurgency.

The government has responded by intensifying military crackdowns on Islamic militants hiding out in remote scrubland. Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni warned terrorists on Friday that they have “one choice: Turn themselves in or die”.

In New York, Jean-Maurice Ripert, president of the UN Security Council, condemned the bombing, calling it a “heinous attack”.

Thursday’s bombing struck a crowd of people waiting to see visiting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has devoted his eight years in office to ending violence by insurgents.