2007 Batna bombing

On 6 September 2007, a bombing occurred in Batna, a town in Batna Province in eastern Algeria, shortly before a planned visit by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The attack resulted in an estimated 15 to 20 deaths and 107 injuries. The president was at the end of a three-day tour of eastern Algeria at the time.

According to accounts of the incident, a suicide bomber was among a crowd gathered outside the Al-Atik mosque awaiting the president's arrival. The bomber, described as a man aged 30 to 35, was carrying his device in a plastic bag. His "agitated" manner drew notice from those nearby approximately 45 minutes before the president was due to arrive. As police approached him, the bomber appears to have detonated his device prematurely. It remains unknown whether the bomber himself was killed in the blast. Algeria's interior minister, Noureddine Yazid, was quoted by the state news agency APS as saying the bomber had escaped through a security cordon.

In the aftermath, the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front condemned the attack on 8 September, joining President Bouteflika in describing the perpetrators as "criminals." There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though President Bouteflika publicly attributed the attack to Islamic militants. APS quoted him stating that "terrorist acts have absolutely nothing in common with the noble values of Islam." The president also visited survivors who were being treated at nearby hospitals.

On 9 September 2007, Al Qaeda's north Africa wing stated that it was responsible for the Batna attack as well as a separate bombing that had occurred 48 hours earlier. In a statement posted online, the group said: "We reiterate that the majority of those killed in this operation were from the police and security forces ... and that our brother did not target innocent people as reported by the media." Regarding both attacks, the group said they were carried out "in defense of Islam and the Islamic nation."

Following the bombing, the governments of both Algeria and the United States issued warnings to citizens advising against overland travel between Algerian cities, and recommended that foreign tourists remain in secure hotels.