CASABLANCA - Morocco's Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa Wednesday ruled out any connection between a rash of suicide bombings in the Algerian capital and the Moroccan port city of Casablanca.
"No links have been established between the explosions of March 11 and April 10 in Casablanca and the bombings in Alger," Benmoussa told a news conference in Casablanca.
"We have found no logistical or structural elements to prove a link with the bombings at Alger but we do not rule out a movement espousing jihad (Islamic holy war) and terrorism," he said.
He said "even the timing of the blasts" in the two countries were not linked as the Moroccan bombings were sparked by a police raid which prompted the militants to blow themselves up.
Two suicide car bomb attacks claimed by an Al-Qaeda affiliate rocked the Algerian capital, including the prime minister's office, on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 160.
The bombings came on the heels of kamikaze blasts in neighbouring Morocco.
Three suspected militants blew themselves on Tuesday as they were being chased in Casablanca. All were wanted in connection with a March 11 bombing at a Casablanca Internet cafe staged by another suspected militant.
Algeria along with neighbouring Tunisia and Morocco are battling to contain attacks by Islamist militant groups.
04/11/2007 20:11 GMT