Al-Qaeda “Branch” Claims Algeria Bomb Attacks

A group claiming to be Al Qaeda’s North African branch has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that have killed a total of 55 people in Algeria. In a recorded message broadcast on Al-Jazeera, a spokesman for the group, Salah Abu Mohammed, said they were responsible for the Tuesday suicide bomb attack in Issers and Wednesday’s twin attacks in Bouira. It is however unclear whether the audio recordings are authentic. [PE]