ALGIERS, Algeria — Two truck bombs set off in quick succession sheared off the fronts of U.N. offices and a government building in Algeria’s capital Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack claimed by an affiliate of al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa, in an online posting, called the U.N. offices “the headquarters of the international infidels’ den.”
A U.N. official said at least 11 of its employees died.
The bombs exploded 10 minutes apart around 9:30 a.m., devastating the U.N. refugee agency and other U.N. offices along a street in the upscale Hydra neighborhood, as well as Algeria’s Constitutional Council, which rules on the constitutionality of laws and oversees elections.
The blasts, which came on the month’s 11th day, a number rich in symbolism both for Algerians and for al-Qaeda, drew swift international condemnation.
“It was horror,” said Mohammed Faci, 23, whose arm was broken by the blast as he rode a bus.
The targeting of U.N. offices was a new development in the 15-year war between Algeria’s secular government and Islamic insurgents, who previously focused their hate on symbols of the military-backed administration and civilians.
Al-Qaeda’s self-styled North African branch’s posting said two suicide bombers attacked the buildings with trucks carrying 1,760 pounds of explosives each. Images were provided of the two “martyrs.”
“This is another successful conquest carried out by the Knights of the Faith with their blood in defense of the wounded nation of Islam,” said the statement, which claimed that more than 110 “Crusaders and apostates” were killed.
Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the Algerian government was “certain” that al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa — formerly known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat — “was behind the attack.” Counterterrorism officials in Algeria’s former colonial ruler, France, say the group is drawing members from across North Africa.
Although it is thought to have only several hundred fighters, the al-Qaeda affiliate has resisted security sweeps to organize suicide bombings and other attacks as it shifts its focus from trying to topple the government to waging holy war and fighting Western interests.
Al-Qaeda has struck on the 11th in several countries, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attack in the U.S. Al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for attacks last April 11 that hit the Algerian prime minister’s office and a police station, killing 33 people.
Dec. 11 has meaning for Algerians. On that date in 1960, pro-independence demonstrations were held against the French colonial rulers. The Constitutional Council is on December 11, 1960, Boulevard.
Anne Giudicelli, who runs the Paris- based consulting firm Terrorisc, said Tuesday’s attack bore the “clear signature” of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
“They attacked neighborhoods where there is plenty of security, which is a way to show their strength in the war with security services,” she said.
