அல்ஜீரியா தற்கொலை தாக்குதலில் 8 பேர் பலி

ஆப்பிரிக்க விளையாட்டு நிகழ்ச்சி ஆரம்பிக்க சில மணி நேரங்களுக்கு முன்னதாக நடந்த தற்கொலை தாக்குதலில் 8 பேர் கொல்லப்பட்டனர். 20 பேர் படுகாயமடைந்தனர்.

பதின்ம வயதுடைய அல்குவேதா தற்கொலை குண்டுதாரி முகாமில் ஒரு லாரி நிறைய வெடிகுண்டுகளோடு நுழைந்து வெடித்திருக்கிறார்

ஆல் ஆப்பிரிக்கா கேம்ஸ் என்ற விளளயாட்டு நிகழ்ச்சி அல்ஜீரியாவில் நடக்க இருக்கிறது. இதற்காக 8000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட ஆப்பிரிக்க விளையாட்டு வீரர்கள் அல்ஜீரியாவுக்கு வந்துள்ளனர்.

Algeria suicide attack kills eight
07-11-2007, 09h50
ALGIERS (AFP)

A suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 20 in an attack on an Algerian barracks just a few hours before the start of a major African sporting event in the capital, security sources said.
(AFP/File)

A suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 20 in an attack on an Algerian barracks Wednesday just a few hours before the start of a major African sporting event in the capital, security sources said.

The teenaged bomber rammed a refrigerated truck packed with explosive into the barracks at Lakhdaria, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Algiers, security sources said.

A major security operation was launched around Lakhdaria, in parallel to the huge precautions taken for the All-Africa Games which involve 8,000 athletes from more than 20 countries.

The eight dead included soldiers and civilians and the toll could rise, the security sources said.

The attack was the latest in a series of suicide bombings in Algeria which have put Spain and other European countries on edge, amid fears of a spread of Islamist violence.

It came a few days after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called on the defence forces to redouble their efforts against militants, in a speech to defence officials to mark the 45th anniversary of Algeria's independence from France.

Some 50 people, including 28 militants, have been killed in Islamist-related violence in Algeria since the beginning of June, according to AFP figures based on official statements and newspaper reports.

Two car bomb attacks on April 11 killed 33 people and injured more than 220 in Algiers. Responsibility was claimed by the extremist Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and renamed itself as Al-Qaeda's branch in Islamic Mahgreb.

The GSPC also claimed responsibility for seven car bomb attacks on February 13 in the Kabylie region which killed six people.