Algeria

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) (AP) — al-Qaeda's North African branch claimed to have killed at least 130 people in Algeria in a spate of attacks this month — nearly twice the official death toll, said a statement carried on a website frequently used by militants. The group described the attacks targeting a police academy, a military barracks and a Canadian engineering company this week as its retaliation against security forces for their recent crackdown on militants. The militant group also denied Algerian government claims that it was targeting the general population, insisting that it only hit security forces, which it accused of being apostates, or traitors to Islam. The bombings "killed more than 130 apostates, wounded more than 100, and destroyed three barracks and several vehicles," the militant group said in a statement carried late Friday on a website often used by militants.