Algeria’s Milk Bar Bomber
Zohra Drif was 21 years old when she planted a bomb in a busy ice-cream parlour in Algiers during her country's war of independence form France. Dozens of people were maimed.
Zohra Drif was 21 years old when she planted a bomb that exploded at a busy ice-cream parlour in Algiers. The Algerian student targeted the venue in 1956 during her country’s war of independence with France, because she knew it would be frequented by European settlers. Dozens of civilians were maimed by the blast, which marked the start of a new phase of urban conflict known as the Battle of Algiers. Nick Holland hears from Zohra Drif about what happened that day, and from Danielle Chich, who was enjoying a cold treat at the café when the bomb went off.
PHOTO: Zohra Drif after her arrest in 1957 (AFP/Getty Images)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Mon 25 Apr 202207:50GMTBBC World Service
- Mon 25 Apr 202211:50GMTBBC World Service
- Mon 25 Apr 202217:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Mon 25 Apr 202221:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 26 Apr 202202:50GMTBBC World Service
Podcast
![]()
Witness History
The story of our times, told by the people who were there

