17 killed in Algerian blasts
At least 17 people were killed in two bomb attacks in Algeria today, one targeting the prime minister’s office and the other a police station.
Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem called the attack a “cowardly, criminal terrorist act”.
The APS news agency said the bombing of the capital Algiers government building killed at least nine people and injured 32.
Eight others were killed and 50 wounded in the attack on the police station of Bab Ezzouar, east of the capital.
A charred, wrecked car lay on the road about 100 feet from the gates of the government building, which houses the offices of Mr Belkhadem and the interior minister.
Six floors were badly damaged and partially ripped away, and the iron gates outside were bent back by the force of the blast.
Police cordoned off stairs leading up to the government building with orange police tape, and paramedics raced up the steps with stretchers.
Paramedics escorted a man with blood on his head into an ambulance. Another woman, looking dazed and in tears, was checked for head injuries.
