Prayers up for plane crash victims across Algeria

Mosques across Algeria on Friday held absentee funeral prayers for the 257 victims of Wednesday’s military plane crash.

Thousands of people, including government officials and foreign diplomats, attended the prayer at the renovated Ketchaoua Mosque in Algeria’s capital city Algiers.

“The solidarity shown by the Algerian people in this painful tragedy reflects their respect for the great sacrifice made by our army,” Tayeb Louh, Algerian Minister of Justice, told reporters after the prayer.

The nationwide prayers were proposed by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

On the same day, prayers were also performed in other countries, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

The plane crashed on Wednesday in Algeria’s Blida Province, 30 km southwest of the capital Algiers just moments after it took off from the Boufarik military airport. The majority of the victims were soldiers and members of their families, according to the Algerian Defense Ministry.

Reuters