CAIRO — Al Qaida has been operating a bomb factory in Algeria.
Algerian military sources said the new Al Qaida Organization in the
Islamic Maghreb has been producing a range of explosives near Algiers. The
sources said the explosives were employed in suicide bombings in 2007 in the
capital and other areas of the North African state, Middle East Newsline reported.
On Aug. 10, the Algerian Army said an Al Qaida bomb factory was
discovered in Zamouri in the Boumerdas province. The army said the bomb
factory was located 54 kilometers from Algiers and operated by Islamic
insurgents based in the mountains near Algiers.
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The factory, which contained chemicals and containers, manufactured
bombs, the army statement said. The facility was operated by scores of Al
Qaida
members and was equipped with sufficient supplies and food for months.
"The discovery is very important for a terrorist group that consists of
some 40 members," the army said.
The Algerian Army, backed by paramilitary forces, has been combing the
mountains east of Algiers for Al Qaida insurgents. Over the last month,
dozens of Al Qaida agents were said to have been killed or captured.