On August 29, 1997, what may have been Algeria's bloodiest massacre of the 1990s occurred at the village of Rais, near Larbaa and south of Algiers. The official death toll was 98 people killed and 120 wounded; CNN reported a toll of 400. Many women were abducted, and houses were burned and bombed. Survivors reported that the attackers had mutilated and stolen from the dead, and committed atrocities against pregnant women. Several reported that the killers were dressed like "Afghans", with turbans, beards, and uniforms; some reported that the attackers were also cursing God throughout. Responsibility was claimed for this, as for the Bentalha massacre, by the GIA (Armed Islamic Group.)