Algeria: 35 killed or wounded, three police men assassinated
Algeria, Local, 5/17/2002

The Algerian official news agency announced that five persons were killed and at least other 30 wounded in a bomb explosion in Tuesday in the weekly market in Tazmalt (in Bajayyah district, smaller Qabael), 260 Km to the east of the capital Algiers. The agency quoted medical sources as saying that these results are "for the mean time" and not final, unfortunately.

However, local citizens said that 7 persons were killed and 5 wounded in this attack. The agency said that the bomb was placed at the entrance of the market inside a sewage pipe. This is, however, the first time in which an attack targets civilians in a public place since the beginning of the act of violence in 1992. Until this attack, Bajjayah has not been targeted by attacks usually attributed to the armed Islamic group.

This operation was carried out amid the ongoing legislative elections campaign which is due May 30, which the people of al-Qabeal announced a boycott off due due to a call made by "Tansiqeyat al-Aroush" ( one of the Major families in al-Qabeal area), which since April 2001, has been leading a campaign of protest in the region.

On the other hand, three members of the Algerian police were killed in Baraqi (southern East of the capital), according to the Algerian daily La Tribune in its Wednesday's issue. The paper gave no information on the conditions prevailing the assassination acts, nor the identity of the persons that committed it. These aggressions came after 24 hours from killing two police members in Dali Ibrahim in the southern western suburb of Algiers.

Previous Stories:
  Algeria: 31 person killed in two massacres   (5/3/2002)
  Algeria investigates prison fire   (5/2/2002)
  Algeria: Four persons killed in an attack by Islamists   (4/27/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search