24 killed in Algeria

ALGIERS ­- Western countries reduced embassy services in Algeria and urged their citizens to avoid travelling on predictable routes after terrorist attacks in the North African country left 24 dead and more than 220 injured.

The US Embassy said it would limit movement by its staffers to essential business over the Algerian weekend Thursday and Friday, after the attacks on Wednesday on the prime minister’s office and a police station. Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for the attacks.Britain’s Foreign Office recommended that travellers restrict their movements in the capital, Algiers, and said it was looking into ‘reports that terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks against aircraft in Algeria’.It did not elaborate.France’s government said that large Algerian cities were ‘quite secure in general’, but nonetheless urged ‘the greatest prudence’ for its nationals.The Web site of the French Embassy said travel should be limited to cities through major roadways, and ‘travel by plane remains preferable’.The embassy also recommended that French people living in Algeria ‘avoid repeated trips on fixed timetables and fixed itineraries’.In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry’s Web site advised Germans to take care during travel in Algeria ‘because attacks with a terrorist background against foreigners or foreign firms also cannot be ruled out’.Foreign embassies traditionally have advised caution when travelling in Algeria, which has been trying to turn the page on a 15-year Islamic insurgency that killed as many as 200 000 people, but the Western nations stepped up the calls after Wednesday’s attacks.Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa, formerly known as the GSPC, has carried out a series of recent bombings in Algeria.It claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message sent to al Jazeera.The Algerian government did not name suspects.Nampa-APAl Qaeda in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for the attacks.Britain’s Foreign Office recommended that travellers restrict their movements in the capital, Algiers, and said it was looking into ‘reports that terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks against aircraft in Algeria’.It did not elaborate.France’s government said that large Algerian cities were ‘quite secure in general’, but nonetheless urged ‘the greatest prudence’ for its nationals.The Web site of the French Embassy said travel should be limited to cities through major roadways, and ‘travel by plane remains preferable’.The embassy also recommended that French people living in Algeria ‘avoid repeated trips on fixed timetables and fixed itineraries’.In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry’s Web site advised Germans to take care during travel in Algeria ‘because attacks with a terrorist background against foreigners or foreign firms also cannot be ruled out’.Foreign embassies traditionally have advised caution when travelling in Algeria, which has been trying to turn the page on a 15-year Islamic insurgency that killed as many as 200 000 people, but the Western nations stepped up the calls after Wednesday’s attacks.Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa, formerly known as the GSPC, has carried out a series of recent bombings in Algeria.It claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message sent to al Jazeera.The Algerian government did not name suspects.Nampa-AP