Suicide bombings in Algeria's Blida: what we know so far

Two men wearing explosive belts were involved in what regional media and security sources described as attempted suicide attacks in the Algerian city of Blida on Monday, coinciding with the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit to the country, drawing international condemnation as Algerian authorities remained silent.

The attacks

The incidents took place in Blida, a city of roughly 300,000 people about 50 kilometres south of Algiers. Police shot both men before they could reach their intended targets, and the attackers detonated their vests, according to sources who spoke to France24. The first device was triggered outside the  police headquarters in the city center. A second blast occurred near a food processing facility in the same province shortly after.

Casualties

Unconfirmed. Early reports citing French media mentioned two police officers killed and at least one wounded. The two attackers were killed at the scene. No official casualty figures have been released, and the numbers have not been independently verified.

Who is responsible

Unknown. No group has claimed responsibility as of publication. The method and targets, a police headquarters followed by a civilian industrial site, are consistent with patterns of jihadist activity, but no attribution has been made and no investigation findings have been made public.

The official silence

Algerian state authorities have issued no statement. Local media has been largely quiet, and some voices associated with the government circulated the claim that the explosions were caused by a gas canister rather than an attack. That account is contradicted by multiple regional outlets, eyewitness testimony, and the British government’s travel advisory update, which explicitly cited “reports of an explosion” in Blida on April 13.

International reaction

The African Union Commission condemned the attacks in a statement signed by the commission’s president, describing them in strong terms, offering condolences to the families of victims, and reaffirming Algeria’s role in continental counterterrorism efforts, implicitly acknowledging what Algiers has declined to confirm.

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its Algeria travel advisory late Monday, stating it was aware of reports of an explosion in Blida and advising British nationals in the area to remain vigilant and follow local security guidance. Existing FCDO advice already warns against all travel within 30 kilometres of Algeria’s borders with Libya, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Tunisia. That guidance was not extended to the wider country following Monday’s incident.

The timing

Pope Leo XIV landed in Algiers on Monday morning at the invitation of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune , the first papal visit to Algeria,  as part of an 11-day African tour framed around religious dialogue and coexistence. Algerian state media continued covering the visit without any reference to the Blida incident.

Context

Attacks of this scale and method are rare in Algeria. The country has not seen significant domestic terrorism since the height of AQIM activity in the 2000s. A suicide bombing near the Mali border in 2020 was described at the time as the first such incident in several years. Blida itself has historical significance in Algeria’s security landscape, sitting in terrain associated with militant activity during the civil war of the 1990s and was the site of a military patrol attack in 2017.