Algeria says it might reply in kind if it stays on US air travel terrorism watch list

Algeria wants to get off US air travel watch list

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria’s interior minister is threatening to reply in kind if his country remains on U.S. and French special terrorism-related air travel watch lists.

Algeria says it is “unacceptable” for the North African nation to be on such lists.

Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni reiterated that Tuesday, saying, “if this is truly necessary, we should apply the rule of reciprocity.”

The United States has directed airlines to give full-body pat-downs to U.S.-bound travelers from Algeria and 13 other countries. Algeria is among seven countries on a French list.

Algeria, an ally of France and the U.S., battled an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade.

The safety precautions followed a botched effort by a Nigerian to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas.