Iran’s FM Spokesman Condemns Bomb Attacks In Algeria April 11, 2007
Posted by محمد الحسن in Algeria, Iran.1 comment so far
The spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, has strongly condemned a series of bomb attacks against a number of Algerian government centers in the capital, Algiers, saying the attacks were clearly callous and against humanitarian principles.
Speaking on Wednesday night, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said this type of terror attacks which kill and injured a large number of civilians and innocent Algerians are clearly against the teachings of Islam, and against humanitarian principles.
Two car bombs rocked the Algerian capital on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, and injuring over 160 others. One car bomb went off in the parking lot of a building housing the Algerian prime minister’s office, and interior ministry, and the other detonated in the “Bab Al-Zawwar” district of eastern Algiers, opposite a police station.
IRIB
Kidnapped Iranian diplomat explains his torture by the US forces April 11, 2007
Posted by محمد الحسن in Iran, USA.add a comment
Second Secretary of Iran’s embassy in Baghdad Jalal Sharafi, who was kidnapped and tortured by the US forces, explained the details of his torture to domestic and foreign reporters in the venue of foreign ministry here Wednesday.
Sitting on a wheelchair, Sharafi said,” a group of 8 from Iraqi Intelligence Service (Istakhbarat) who were under command of the US forces tortured me psychologically and physically in a cell somewhere close to the Baghdad airport.”
He said because of the torture “my drum membrane tore up, my nose was broken, my lumbar vertebrae was damaged and my stomach started bleeding.”
The tortured diplomat added,” a man who spoke English and introduced himself as an official of the US embassy in Baghdad and in charge of my case interrogated me.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Alireza Ali-Hosseini a dermatologist and Ali Sharifi, a psychologist, explained tortures inflicted on Mr. Sharafi.
Sharafi also showed the signs of tortures on his body to the reporters and photographers attending the meeting.
Sharafi was transferred to the venue of the press conference by an ambulance and then was taken to the hospital again.
Representative of the International Committee of Red Cross in Iran said on Wednesday that the committee will follow the case.
Jalal Sharafi was abducted in Baghdad on February 4, 2007 and was released on April 3, 2007.
IRNA
Explosions rock Algiers April 11, 2007
Posted by محمد الحسن in Al-Qaeda, Algeria.add a comment
Two large explosions in the Algerian capital have killed at least 23 people and left dozens more wounded.
One bomb exploded outside the headquarters of the Algerian prime minister in central Algiers on Tuesday morning, causing a blast that could be heard 10km away.
Another explosion targeted a police station in Bab Ezzouar, an eastern suburb of the city near the international airport, damaging a nearby electricity sub-station.
The government has not said what caused the two blasts - although some witnesses reported that the attacks were suicide bombings.
APS, Algeria’s official news agency, put the combined toll from the two explosion at 23 with 160 others wounded.
Reuters news agency, however, reported that a total of 30 people had been killed in the bombings.
Al Jazeera television’s bureau in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, received a phone call from a man who said he was a member of al-Qaeda and wanted to take responsibility for the explosions.
The caller said that the explosions were the result of three al-Qaeda members who had carried out suicide car-bombings. His claims could not be independently confirmed.
PM denounces attack
Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the Algerian prime minister, was unhurt and referred to the attacks “criminal and cowardly”. He said an investigation would be carried out to determine their cause.
Abdel Karim Dahmen, a member of the ruling party, referred to the blasts as “bombs of terror” and said they could be an attempt to destabilise the country before elections due next month.
Omar Dalal, the editor of the Al Shaab newspaper, was near the scene when one blast happened at 11:30am local time and said it took place in the street parallel to the 17-storey building that houses the prime minister’s office and several ministries, including the interior ministry.
The main anti-government rebel group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (the GSPC) has claimed responsibility for several attacks in recent months and has also declared itself to be a part of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organisation.
More than 100,000 Algerians died in a civil war between the government and Islamist fighters in the 1990s.
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