A bomb attack in central Algiers on Monday injured 13 people, three of them seriously, Algerian officials said.
The bomb was placed close to the main post office in the city center and exploded just before 5:00 p.m. [local time] when the area was crowded with people returning home from work, AFP reported.
Firemen treated some victims in ambulances that arrived within minutes of the explosion, while the three most seriously injured were taken to a hospital.
One of the victims was a young girl. Officials had earlier said 15 people were wounded.
The blast was heard across the city and created a large plume of black smoke, spreading panic among the people in an open-air market, the News Agency added.
Police cordoned off the area to keep curious onlookers away.
At least 60 people have been killed in Algerian violence since the start of the month, according to a toll compiled from official sources and media reports.
Algeria's extremist Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Group for Salafist Preaching and Combat (GSPC) are widely blamed for frequent atrocities against Algeria's civilian population.
Security forces killed GIA leader Antar Zouabri in Boufarik, south of Algiers last month.
Ten years of violence have cost more than 150,000 lives after a Muslim fundamentalist insurgency broke out in the country a decade ago.
Since the start of the year about 300 people, including around 100 extremists have died, according to official and press counts.
The government declared a state of emergency in 1992 in a crackdown on militants who had reacted violently after the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was prevented from winning elections. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
