A truck transporting the wreckage of a
car moves past a damaged house at the site of a suicide bomb attack in
Issers, 55 km (34 miles) east of Algiers, August 19, 2008. A bomb attack
east of Algiers killed 43 people and wounded 45 on Tuesday.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
ALGIERS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bombing attack
killed some 43 people and wounded 45 others near a military school in eastern
Algeria on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement that the blast,
occurred at around 7 am local time (0600 GMT), targeted a paramilitary
gendarmerie training school at Issers in Bumerdes province, 55 km east of the
capital, leaving some 43 people killed and 45 injured.
A gendarme inspects the site of a
suicide bomb attack in Issers, 55 km (34 miles) east of Algiers, August
19, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
According to the statement, carried by the official
APS news agency, 42 civilians and one police official were among the dead, while
32 civilians and 13 gendarmes were among the wounded.
Local witnesses noted that the suicide bomb attack
occurred when the suicide bomber rammed his car into a group of prospective
recruits lining up to get into the school for qualifying exams.
A rescuer clears the site of a suicide
bomb attack attack in Issers, 55 km (34 miles) east of Algiers, August 19,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The blast damaged the facades of several houses and
other buildings near the school, and hit vehicles on nearby roads, according to
the witnesses and local media reports.
Algeria has suffered regular attacks blamed on
Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida's north African wing, which has claimed
several attacks, including a suicide bomb at a beach resort on Aug. 10 with the
death toll of eight people.
In December 2007, the twin suicide bombings of U.N.
offices and a court building in Algiers also killed some 41 people.
BRUSSELS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's French
presidency condemned on Tuesday bomb attacks in Algeria as "wanton and barbarous
terrorist attacks."
"The Algerian people are once again the victims of wanton
and barbarous terrorist attacks," the presidency said in a statement. Full story
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States
condemned on Tuesday a suicide bombing attack near a military school at Issers
in eastern Algeria, in which 43 people were killed, and 45 others wounded.
"We condemn this attack, it's just another example of the
reach of extremists and we would support the government of Algeria as best as we
can in trying to fight this scourge," State Department spokesman Robert Wood
said at a news briefing. Full story
