Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 31, 1995 TAG: 9501310149
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ALGIERS, ALGERIA LENGTH: Medium
The toll came from state TV, which said 55 of the injured were in serious condition.
There was no claim of responsibility. The security forces blamed ``criminals'' - the official term for fundamentalist guerrillas seeking to topple the army-backed government and install an Islamic state.
At least 15,000 people have been killed in the three-year insurgency.
The bomb destroyed numerous cars, shattered windows in buildings several blocks away, and blew a crater in the sidewalk nearly 2 yards wide and more than 20 inches deep.
The car carrying the bomb was destroyed, and thick smoke rose from other burning cars nearby. People bloodied by flying glass ran frantically through the street.
State radio called for doctors to come in and appealed for blood donors.
Security forces cordoned off the area where the blast occurred. Sporadic automatic gunfire was heard shortly after the explosion.
Bombs have increasingly been used in the confrontation between fundamentalist Islamic extremists and the military-backed government. There have been about a half-dozen previous car-bombings, but none killed more than five people.
The attack came after fundamentalists from the Islamic Salvation Army urged followers to intensify attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week.
The rebellion began after the government canceled January 1992 elections that the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front was expected to win.
Victims of the confrontation include nearly 30 journalists and nearly 80 foreigners. Most foreigners have left the country because of the uprising.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB