Algerian group uses suicide bombers
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
ALGIERS, Sept 10 (Agencies): When Algeria's Islamic militants dubbed themselves Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa this year, it was more than just a name change: Fresh recruits also have been deployed in suicide bombings, a new tactic in the 15-year insurgencywo bombings that killed more than 50 people last week show how security services are struggling to cope, analysts said.
"This type of attack, the human bomb, is unstoppable," said Liess Boukra, an Algiers-based independent security analyst. "It is very, very difficult to prevent or react to these kinds of (attacks)."
In the first bombing, a man blew himself up Thursday amid a crowd of people waiting to greet President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the eastern town of Batna, killing at least 22. Bouteflika was widely believed to have been the bomber's target
Then on Saturday, a delivery truck packed with explosives was rammed into a coast guard barracks in the northern coastal town of Dellys, killing 30 officers. Reports said the attack was a suicide bombing. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa took responsibility for both bombings.
The two attacks within 48 hours alarmed Algerians. Tens of thousands of people across the country demonstrated Sunday to protest against a return to the relentless violence of the 1990s and to support Bouteflika's peace plan. Marchers carried signs reading "No to terrorism," and "Long live Algeria."
The surge in violence has come at a sensitive moment for Algeria's government, when the country's political future is uncertain. Rumors swirled about the health of 70-year-old Bouteflika after he was hospitalized in Paris for a bleeding stomach ulcer in 2005. Last month saw the death of influential domestic intelligence chief Smain Lamari, a key figure within a secretive ruling elite.
Algeria's insurgency broke out in 1992 after the army canceled elections that a now-banned Islamic party was poised to win. Up to 200,000 people were killed in the ensuing conflict. Until recently, Bouteflika's eight-year push to reconcile the nation appeared mostly successful, and any lingering attacks were scattered and minor.
In El Watan newspaper, editorialist Ali Bahmane asked how the president's peace plan - successive offers of amnesty for reformed militants, combined with military crackdowns for those who refuse - can still be effective against a new breed of fighter.
The plan is "unworkable in the struggle against a higher level of terrorism, that of generalized terror from suicide car bombs and bombers," he wrote.
Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, which used to be known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, changed its name in January, four months after confirming an alliance with al-Qaida.
It claimed responsibility for triple suicide bombings in April outside the prime minister's office and a police station that killed 32. It also waged another attack in July, when a suicide bomber blew up a truck inside a military encampment, killing 10 soldiers.
Analysts say the GSPC, which was formed in 1998, sought the alliance with al-Qaida to try to rebound after being weakened by amnesty offers and military crackdowns.
The use of suicide bombings also allows the militants to increase the impact of attacks despite diminished resources, they say.
"This type of attack, the human bomb, is unstoppable," said Liess Boukra, an Algiers-based independent security analyst. "It is very, very difficult to prevent or react to these kinds of (attacks)."
In the first bombing, a man blew himself up Thursday amid a crowd of people waiting to greet President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the eastern town of Batna, killing at least 22. Bouteflika was widely believed to have been the bomber's target
Then on Saturday, a delivery truck packed with explosives was rammed into a coast guard barracks in the northern coastal town of Dellys, killing 30 officers. Reports said the attack was a suicide bombing. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa took responsibility for both bombings.
The two attacks within 48 hours alarmed Algerians. Tens of thousands of people across the country demonstrated Sunday to protest against a return to the relentless violence of the 1990s and to support Bouteflika's peace plan. Marchers carried signs reading "No to terrorism," and "Long live Algeria."
The surge in violence has come at a sensitive moment for Algeria's government, when the country's political future is uncertain. Rumors swirled about the health of 70-year-old Bouteflika after he was hospitalized in Paris for a bleeding stomach ulcer in 2005. Last month saw the death of influential domestic intelligence chief Smain Lamari, a key figure within a secretive ruling elite.
Algeria's insurgency broke out in 1992 after the army canceled elections that a now-banned Islamic party was poised to win. Up to 200,000 people were killed in the ensuing conflict. Until recently, Bouteflika's eight-year push to reconcile the nation appeared mostly successful, and any lingering attacks were scattered and minor.
In El Watan newspaper, editorialist Ali Bahmane asked how the president's peace plan - successive offers of amnesty for reformed militants, combined with military crackdowns for those who refuse - can still be effective against a new breed of fighter.
The plan is "unworkable in the struggle against a higher level of terrorism, that of generalized terror from suicide car bombs and bombers," he wrote.
Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, which used to be known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, changed its name in January, four months after confirming an alliance with al-Qaida.
It claimed responsibility for triple suicide bombings in April outside the prime minister's office and a police station that killed 32. It also waged another attack in July, when a suicide bomber blew up a truck inside a military encampment, killing 10 soldiers.
Analysts say the GSPC, which was formed in 1998, sought the alliance with al-Qaida to try to rebound after being weakened by amnesty offers and military crackdowns.
The use of suicide bombings also allows the militants to increase the impact of attacks despite diminished resources, they say.