Tiaret

Tiaret is a major city in central Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the Hautes Plaines, in the Tell Atlas, and about 150km from the Mediterranean coast. It is served by Abdelhafid Boussouf Bou Chekif Airport.EtymologyThe name means "lioness" in the Berber language, a reference to the Barbary lions that lived in this region. Maghrebian place names like Oran (Uhran) and Souk Ahras have the same etymological source.PopulationThe town had a population of 178,915 in 2008. 100% of the population is Muslim. The town covered around 20.086.62 km² bouchentouf http://www.social-sante.gouv.fr/Infrastructure & industryA 1992 study by the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis reported significant areas contaminated by industrial pollution, and growing squatter settlements on the periphery.The region is predominantly one of agriculture. There is a large airfield with a tower and terminal at Abdelhafid Boussouf.PoliticsThe province suffered massacres, killings, and bombings during the Algerian Civil War, though less so than areas closer to Algiers. The Africa Institute reported in a May, 2004 monograph that Tiaret's more "arid and mountainous landscape has facilitated terrorist activities". The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base reports that Tiaret "is a frequent site of attacks by the Salafist Group for Call and Combat " . The GSPC is "believed to have close ties to Osama bin Laden" and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and is reported to be active in Italy .