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ARTICLE · 23 MAY 1997

Boufarik Bomb Kills 15

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
A large car-bomb exploded in Boufarik, to the south of Algiers, on 22 May, killing 15.

Security implications

The bomb bears out forecasts of an upsurge in terrorism during campaigning for parliamentary elections on 5 June. The explosion took place shortly before several campaign meetings were scheduled to start. A suspect - believed to be a member of an Islamic extremist group - is in custody.

In addition to election meetings and political party offices, educational establishments, such as schools and colleges, are now prime targets for bombings. Islamic extremists oppose secular education - particularly of girls and women - as 'un-Islamic'. On 6 May a powerful car bomb exploded near two schools in the Bab el-Oued neighbourhood of central Algiers, killing four children and injuring 25 people. A spokesman for the Armed Islamic Groups (GIA) claimed on 1 May that Islamic law allowed the killing of women during a 'jihad' (holy war).

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