Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/attack-in-algeria-reopens-countrys-war-wounds-stirs-terror-fears Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Two truck bombs exploded in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, causing heavy damage to U.N. offices and killing more than 31. A branch of terror group al-Qaida claimed responsibility. Experts assess what the attacks mean for Algeria, Northern Africa and the West. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. GWEN IFILL: Next, another deadly attack, this time in the North African nation of Algeria. Margaret Warner has the story. MARGARET WARNER: Emergency crews spent the night digging through the rubble of the gutted U.N. buildings in Algiers. As rescuers searched for survivors and bodies, family members of the missing waited at the scene for word of their loved ones.Yesterday's twin car bombings by an al-Qaida-affiliated group hit the Algerian supreme court building and, minutes later, the U.N. buildings in an upscale neighborhood of the Algerian capital.Today, the unofficial death toll estimates soared well above the Interior Ministry's official tally of 31, with scores — perhaps hundreds — more reported wounded.One thing remained certain: At least nine of those killed were U.N. staff, making it the worst single attack on a U.N. installation since the 2003 bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. Twenty-two died in that blast.Speaking from a climate conference in Bali, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among the many world leaders condemning the bombing. BAN KI-MOON, United Nations Secretary-General: I'd like to condemn, in the strongest terms, this is just unacceptable, in whatever the circumstances. It cannot be justified in any circumstances. MARGARET WARNER: A group called al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attack in a Web site posting. It described the U.N. offices as "the headquarters of the infidels' den" and declared its aim is to overthrow the Algerian government.The terrorist group is an offshoot of the Islamic guerrilla movement that waged a bloody, decade-long civil war in the 1990s that left at least 150,000 people dead.The organization renamed itself al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb last January. Since then, it has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings that have killed more than 80 people.