Free Republic

Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune today in the first visit of a Pentagon chief to the North African country since 2006. It was also the highest-level US diplomatic meeting with the new Algerian president since longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted amid popular protests last year. The meeting came a day after Esper signed a 10-year road map for defense cooperation agreement with Tunisia's defense minister and one day before an expected stop in Morocco. The trip is the latest sign that the United States sees strategic opportunity in bolstering its partnerships in North Africa...

Thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, Saturday to celebrate the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and call for their own president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down. The protesters began marching toward the Egyptian embassy but were confronted and pushed back by a group of men armed with sticks. There were conflicting reports as to whether the armed men were police or government supporters. The gathering points for Saturday's protests were Sana'a University and the city's Tahrir Square, which bears the same name as the rallying point for the protests in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

ALGIERS, Algeria - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held meetings Saturday with terrorism-fighting allies in North Africa, a region of growing strategic importance. After talks with Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci in this vital oil- and gas-producing nation, Rice planned to see President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Her visit comes as Algeria has experienced a surge in terrorist attacks, most claimed by a local extremist group that has linked with al-Qaida.

ALGIERS (Reuters) - The deputy chief of al Qaeda's North Africa wing, believed to be the group's operational leader, was killed along with two other rebels in a gun battle with Algerian troops, local newspapers said on Tuesday. Hareg Zoheir, also known as Sofiane Abu Fasila, was said to be the second-in-command of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and suspected of being behind planning most of the suicide bombings in Algeria in the recent months. He was shot dead on Sunday at a check point in the eastern region of Tzizi Ouzou, the country's leading dailies reported. "Sofiane is...

A booby-trapped car went off at an army barracks Saturday, killing at least 28 people and wounding many more, security services said, according to the AP. The bomb exploded in the town of Dellys, about 30 miles from Algiers, they said. It went off as the local coast guard was taking part in the morning flag-raising ceremony. All the victims were coast guard officials, who are part of Algeria's armed forces, hospital officials said. The latest blast comes just two days after 20 people died in a suicide bomb attack in Batna. That bomb exploded in a crowd awaiting a...

At least 28 people have been killed and some 60 injured in a car bomb attack on an Algerian naval barracks in Dellys, 100km (62 miles) east of Algiers. It comes just two days after a suicide bomb attack left at least 20 people dead, including the bomber, in Batna. That bomb exploded in a crowd awaiting a visit to the town by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He later blamed Islamic militants for the attack, but there has been no claim of responsibility for either attack. 'Islamic militants' Appearing on television soon after the Batna incident, Mr Bouteflika said Islamic militants...

ALGIERS (AFP) - Algerians began voting in an optimistic atmosphere in what many see as a genuine -- and unprecedented -- democratic election pitting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika against his former right-hand man, Ali Benflis, and four other rivals. "If it goes well we can say democracy has taken off in Algeria," said 65-year-old Omar Belhousse after casting his ballot in Algiers. Ticking off a list of firsts for the north African country, he said: "It's the first time we've had the freedom to express our will, it's the first time the opposition is really expressing itself. It's the first time...