UN office bombed in Algeria

CNN:

Two bombs which hit the Algerian capital of Algiers Tuesday killed 47 people, state-run television network ENTV reported.

One explosion was outside the constitutional court in the neighborhood of Ben Aknoun and the other was in the residential area of Hydra, ENTV reported.

The other attack apparently targeted the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in the neighborhood of Hydra, UNHCR chief spokesman Ron Redmond told CNN.

A spokeswoman at the United Nations' headquarters in Geneva said they had so far been unable to contact their staff at the organization's Algiers offices to verify their safety.

Algeria's Minister of State Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the explosions were the result of two cars full of explosives, according to the state news agency

Redmond said an "extremely powerful" car bomb went off between two U.N. buildings, causing extensive damage, with the facade being blown off the main building.

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In April, the northern Africa wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in downtown Algiers that killed 33 people.

So far no group has admitted responsibility for Tuesday's blasts.

This blast seems to follow al Qaeda's MO. the group has been under assault in Algeria and has been losing. this attack is not likely to endear it to the Algerian people who have been turning against the group. Strategy Page reports that the high concentration of cell phones now in Algeria is making it difficult for al Qaeda to operate. "As was the case in Iraq, once a cell phone using population turns against the terrorists, the timely reports to police greatly increase, making it much more difficult for terrorists to move around undetected. Meanwhile, the terrorists favorite communications tool, the Internet, is not as widely established, with only four million users in Algeria. "