AQIM Suicide Bombing in Tizi Ouzou- update

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for yet another devastating suicide attack, which this time wounded some 25 people, including four police men.

A message, along with a photo indentifying the bomber as Makhlouf Abu Mariam, pictured clutching a grenade and pistol, was posted on a militant Islamist website.

• The bomber was attempting to drive a truck laden with 600 kg of explosives into a police station in the town of Tizi Ouzou in eastern Algeria but detonated his device after being prevented from coming close enough to the station.
• The explosion ripped through a nearby block of flats causing significant damage, a number of cars were also set alight according to reports in the Algerian media.
• The message issued by the group was stark, warning that "our finger is on the trigger and our convoys of martyrs are longing to rampage your bastions in defence of our Islamic nation".
• The group said the bombing should be a warning to the "sons of France", "the slaves of America and their masters".
• The Islamists recently vowed to step up attacks against the government which it accuses of colluding with the United States and Western states against the Algerian people

The Rest @ Lexis Nexis