Cop throws himself on suicide bomber

ALGIERS: A policeman was killed after a suicide bomber tried to blow up a police station in western Algeria.

“The policemen on duty responded quickly, and one of them, in an act of bravery, threw himself on the assailant at the entrance of the headquarters and lost his life,” the national security directorate said.

The suicide belt exploded, killing two policemen, state news agency APS said.

The hero police officer was named as Tayeb Issawi, ennaharonline.com said.

The attempted bombing happened on Aug 31 when an armed militant, wearing a suicide belt, tried to blow himself up in the police post in Tiaret, around 300km west of Algiers.

The second police officer caught in the blast died later of his injuries, according to a police statement.

A security cordon was set up by police at the scene of the explosion.

The Islamic State’s Amaq news agency later claimed responsibility for the incident.

“A martyr from Islamic State detonated a suicide vest close to the Algerian police station in the city of Tiaret,” Amaq said.

An Algerian police officer told The New Arab website that the attack was connected to Jund Al-Khilafa, an Al-Qaeda faction which had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

“You can be as good as you want but when it comes to suicide bombers there is nothing you can do,” he said.

“You can only try to reduce damage but it is at the few seconds remaining before the attacker blows himself up.” – The Independent