Algiers Searches for Missing

Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for twin blasts that killed dozens

By Lucas Laursen, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 12, 2007 8:44 AM CST

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Algiers Searches for Missing — Rescuers and forensic policemen work at the site of a bomb blast in Algiers, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. Car bomb attacks targeting United Nations offices and a government council killed at least 45 people and injured dozens of others in Algeria's capital on Tuesday, authorities said. At least 12 U.N. staff... (Associated Press)

Rescuers worked though the night to locate missing UN workers and others trapped in the rubble left by yesterday's twin car bombs in Algiers, which a North African group linked to al-Qaeda claims to have detonated. Death counts vary, but the UN estimates that 45 were killed, including a dozen UN staffers, CNN reports. The group, which wants to turn North Africa into an Islamic state, posted its claim on an Islamist website.

Al-Qaeda Islamic Maghreb is thought to have 500 to 700 members, mostly clustered on Algeria’s coast, reports Bloomberg. “Their support and their means are marginal, but they are still capable of attention-grabbing atrocities,” said a French counter-terrorism expert. (More bombing stories.)

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