- The explosions in Blida killed two suicide bombers.
- The incidents occurred during the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Algeria.
- Suicide attacks in Algeria are a rather rare phenomenon after the civil war.
- The African Union first condemned the attacks, then withdrew the statement due to unconfirmed information.
At the time when Pope Leo XIV. on Monday, he was starting his visit to Algeria, two explosions shook the city of Blida near the capital. According to the security forces, these were “security incidents of a terrorist nature,” in which two suicide bombers lost their lives, AFP added. The Algerian authorities have not yet officially confirmed these attacks.
Video footage verified by AFP shows two bodies on a street in Blida. The remains appeared to be mutilated. According to the footage, the crime scene was located near several shops and a police station. These videos were published a few hours after the Pope’s arrival in Algiers. It is not clear when the records were made. The link between the attacks and the papal visit, which is being held under tight security measures, has not yet been confirmed.
AFP added that the Algerian army occasionally reports the capture or killing of “terrorists,” as authorities refer to armed Islamists who have been active in Algeria since the 1992-2002 civil war. However, attacks and bombings by militants are currently rare.
The last recorded suicide attack in Algeria took place in February 2020. The target was a military base in the south of the country near the border with Mali, and one soldier was killed. The terrorist organization Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. In March, the Algerian army announced that it had killed seven jihadists and lost three soldiers in an operation in the east of the country, near the border with Tunisia.
In connection with the assassinations in Blida, the African Union (AU) issued a statement on Tuesday in which it condemned them. However, she later removed it from her official website and social media accounts. The spokesperson of the AU clarified that the information on which the opinion was based “was not confirmed by official sources”. The Algerian authorities, which have not yet officially confirmed the attacks, did not comment on the AU statement.
