Algiers Muslims step up attacks on foreigners

ARussian woman was shot and killed and a bus used by Russian soldiers attacked yesterday, the day after an Italian businessman was shot in an apparent escalation of violence aimed at foreigners, AP reports from Algiers.

Larissa Ayadi was shot in Diar el-Afia, a southern suburb of Algiers. She was married to an Algerian and had lived for several years in the country. Following the shooting, France announced it was taking steps to protect its nationals in Algeria. A militant Muslim organisation, the Armed Islamic Group, threatened last month to begin killing foreigners who stayed in Algeria after 30 November.