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Algerian Terror Timeline, 2007

Below is a timeline of terror-related events in Algeria during 2007, including information compiled by CBS News, and the British Broadcasting Corp. The events show the development of al Qaeda's North Africa branch, "Al Qaeda in the Maghreb," over the course of less than 12 months.



January: The Islamic militant organization, "Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat" renames itself, publicizing a link to Osama bin Laden's terror group, and "al-Qaeda in the Maghreb" is born.

February: Seven bombs go off almost simultaneously east of Algiers, killing six people.

March: Three Algerians and a Russian are killed in a roadside attack on a bus carrying workers for a Russian gas pipeline construction company.

March-April: Algerian army steps up its offensive against Islamist militants in an effort to stamp out the surge in attacks.

April: Thirty-three people are killed and more than 200 are injured in two bomb blasts in Algiers, one of them near the Prime Minister's office. Al Qaeda in the Maghreb claims responsibility.

May: Dozens are killed in a wave of fighting between the military and armed groups in the run-up to Algeria's parliamentary elections.

July: A suicide bomber targets a military barracks near Bouira, killing at least nine people.

September: At least 50 people, including at least three Europeans, are killed in a series of bombings. Al Qaeda in the Maghreb claims responsibility for the attacks in a recorded message sent to Arabic broadcaster al-Arabiya's Algiers office.

November: A car bomb explodes near a police station in eastern Algeria. No casualties are reported, and no group claims responsibility for the attack.

November: The Algerian army confirms the death of the alleged deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Maghreb and mastermind of many recent attacks, Sofian Abu Haidara. The military says Abu Haidara was killed during a raid on al Qaeda hideouts in the country.

December: Two bombs in Algiers, just 10 minutes apart, kill at east 22 people near the Algerian constitutional court and a United Nations office. No group immediately claims responsibility.

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