The two blasts were followed by a gunman dressed in the uniform of the elite police intervention unit who emerged from behind Boudiaf, and emptied his sub-machine gun into the President's back.
Oil prices rose on immediate fears that the killing of Boudiaf might trigger unrest that could hit production, but they fell back later in the day.
[citation needed] The United States, the Organization of African Unity, and other western nations condemned the killing.
[citation needed] By contrast, the Iranian politician and ayatollah Ahmad Jannati reportedly expressed his pleasure about Boudiaf's death, prompting a harsh denunciation from the Algerians.
[4] The attack on Boudiaf was the Arab world's most dramatic political killing since Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists in 1981.