Chicago, IL, February 11, 1996 --In what is being viewed by experts as a "dangerous escalation" of world-wide Islamic extremist violence, bombs exploded today in both Bahrain and Algeria. Two car bombs exploded in heavily populated public squares of Algiers, killing at least 17 people and wounding 93 others. In Manama, Bahrain, a device exploded in the lobby of the luxury Diplomat hotel, injuring at least four people. The radical "Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain" claimed responsibility for the hotel bombing. No official statement have been issued in regard to the dual car-bombings in Algeria, but Algerian military authorities there are blaming Islamic militants.
Seventeen people were reportedly "blown to bits" by a major blast that engulfed an area occupied by several newspaper offices in the Belcourt area of Algiers. Another 52 people were wounded in the detonation, several of them critically. The blast occurred near the offices of the Le Soir d'Algerie and L'Opinion newspapers. A large crater was left by the bomb, which totally destroyed the offices of several reporters who also frequented the building. Unconfirmed reports have been received by ENN that at least two reporters were among the dead. French and Algerian journalists have frequently been the target of Islamic insurgents, and are often attacked by the fundamentalists for their "disrespect for Islamic principles".
A second devastating car bombing also struck the Algerian capitol, early Sunday. 41 people were reported wounded. A small imported car burst into a massive fireball in the Bab el Oued section of the city. The device went off in front of a city office and was said to have caused a general panic in the neighborhood surrounding the scene. Emergency medical sources said that several of the injured had suffered extensive injuries and were unexpected to live. Witnesses described the scene as a "bloody massacre", and said that blood, body parts, and cut-up bodies littered the street shortly after the explosion.
In Bahrain, the "Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain" called the local office of the Associated Press today (AP) and claimed responsibility for a bomb that blew up the lobby of the Diplomat hotel. The Diplomat is a luxury resort that is often filled with foreign visitors, including many American military and corporate officials. In a call to the AP, a unidentified male reportedly said, "We put a bomb in the Diplomat hotel 20 minutes ago...after the feast...tell the government that we will destroy everyplace." Counter-terrorist experts say that the veiled threat refers to a feast that ends the Moslem religious month of Ramadan. The feast, that is referred to in the phone message, is expected to occur on approximately Feb. 19th or 20th, depending on the moon phase.
Guests in the hotel said that a "thunderous boom" that overtook the hotel, followed by panic as the guests ran to escape the lobby that was rapidly filled with smoke and the smell of cordite. Although official casualty figures are unavailable at the time of this report, at least four people were believed injured and possibly more. Witnesses said that they saw ambulances and wounded people being taken away, but that there was much confusion in the vicinity of the hotel. No Bahrain police officials could be reached by ENN for further official comment.
Counter-terrorism analysts at the Emergency Response and Research Institute say that Islamic-extremist inspired violence is spiraling out of control in several countries in N. Africa, the Mid-east, and Asia, and may be part of a larger pattern of attempted Islamic domination of the affected countries. They urge extreme caution for all Americans anticipating travel in these regions and say that they are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of an imminent terrorist attack on the United States.
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