Attacks meant to annoy elections

Algiers bombings victims’ toll

Attacks meant to annoy elections

El Khabar, 14 April 2007

Home affairs minister said terrorist attacks targeting the capital exhibitionist and shed light on a meeting of State senior officials. He also unveiled the security measures strengthening.
Suicide bombings targeting government offices and police station toll raised to 33 killed among civilians and policemen, while 57 wounded are still in hospitals, home affairs minister unveiled.
After state senior officials meeting, Algeria home affairs minister Mr. Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni announced that security measures strengthening are to be added to ordinary counter terrorism efforts through more policemen and gendarmerie elements deployment in cities but the expected is “more citizen vigilance”.
First and foremost, Zerhouni stated “the bombings have been expected, as it is very easy to put a bomb elsewhere and at any time”. He added addressing security corpses and citizens as well, “we have recovered peace and stability but there is still room for vigilance”.
He further pointed out “we are heading to success over terrorist groups as the war on terror has not yet ended but will be easier and faster”, noting that “groups who are perpetrating terrorist acts are those who excluded themselves from reconciliation measures”, “they feel isolated and their combating has to be pursued”. Zerhouni stressed that security services fully control the situation as the terrorist groups are known, isolated and even if they may perpetrate other attacks they are blocked and are in a desperate situation”.
Zerhouni has not excluded that the assaults were meant to annoy forthcoming legislative elections, but the most important Mr. Zerhouni said “is that citizens are committed to political solutions and voted overwhelmingly in favour of national reconciliation”, “terrorists may want to foil the political solution in addition to other reasons meant to undermine the Algerian State institutions efficiency as they do not want Algeria to recover its international and internal positions”. But the main reason in home affairs minister’s opinion was that terrorist aimed at being the focus of media attention as government offices targeting was to be have the extreme media echo.
In the context of Mr. Zerhouni’s denial of the fact that the criminal activity of the Salafist Group of Preaching and Combat –GSPC- shifted after its affiliation to al-Qaeda, Home Affairs minister pointed out: “whatever their name may be, they are the same people, committing the same terrorist acts”, adding, “we know very well Droudkal’s group –GSPC chief-, they are besieged and are doing their last terrorist operations”.

2007-04-14
By Atef Kedadra/ Translated by N. K