A suicide attack on Thursday targeting a police station in western Algeria killed two policemen, one of whom threw himself on the attacker as he detonated his explosive belt. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in the Tiaret region, about 190 miles west of the capital, Algiers. Militants loyal to IS have been carrying out sporadic attacks in Algeria. The latest such attack took place in February, when a police officer foiled a suicide attack on a police station in the city of Constantine.
More than six years after the Arab Spring reverberated across the Middle East and North Africa, the Libyan people still face a seemingly insurmountable challenge of piecing their fractured country back together.
Outsider Bets on Libya Torpedo Peace | Jonathan M. Winer, Former U.S. Special Envoy for Libya
"When outsiders compete to support their preferred players in Libya, they make it harder for Libyans to come together with one another and deal."
Haftar Holds Upper Hand in Libya Power Struggle | Geoff Porter, President, North Africa Risk ConsultingAs for Haftar, he is always looking for opportunities to burnish his credentials internationally. Being feted in Paris by the French president goes a long way toward recasting him as a statesman rather than an aspiring strongman.