Islamist group claims Algeria bombing, vows more

Dubai, Dec 12: An Algerian Islamist militant has group claimed responsibility for the weekend bombing of a bus carrying foreign oil workers near Algiers and warned of further attacks.

''We reiterate our call to all Muslims in Algeria to keep away from the interests of the infidels to avoid harm...once (these interests or individuals) are targeted,'' the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) said in statement posted on the Internet.

The authenticity of the statement, posted late yesterday on a Web site used by Islamist militant groups, could not be verified.

The attack on Sunday killed the Algerian driver and wounded nine people, including four Britons and an American.

The GSPC said the attack was ''a modest present to our Muslim brothers suffering the fire of the new crusade that targets Islam and its sanctities''.

''We bring tidings to the crusaders and apostates that they will face what they dislike,'' it added.

It said the ''mujahideen'' who carried out the attack -- which took place in a heavily protected district 10 km west of Algiers -- returned to their base unharmed.

The United States yesterday urged Americans in Algeria, estimated to number about 800, to review their personal safety after the bombing, the first attack on Westerners in many years.

The bus was ferrying employees of Brown Root Condor, a joint venture of Halliburton subsidiary Kellog, Brown and Root and Condor Engineering, an affiliate of Algerian state energy group Sonatrach, when a roadside bomb went off and gunmen opened fire.

REUTERS

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