Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika gave his backing Thursday to the US response to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, saying the bombing of Afghanistan was within bounds. ”It is absolutely remarkable that in spite of a few excesses recorded now and again since the start of the American riposte … we remain within the comprehensible limits … ” he said in a speech to the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg. The president is on the third day of a four-day state visit to South Africa, added that he was impressed by Washington’s declarations, ”which from the beginning excluded the Arab countries, the Muslim countries … from the terrorist action, targeting only terrorism”. – SAPA