'Seven killed' in Algeria bomb attacks

ALGIERS (AFP) – Two bombs exploded in eastern Algeria hours after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced he will run for a new term, killing at least seven people, the state APS news agency said Friday.

Two women, a baby and a man were killed by one bomb which exploded as their van passed by late Thursday in Foum El-Metlag, near the town of Tebassa, according to security sources quoted by the agency.

The second bomb went off as a rescue worker tended to the injured, killing two police officers and a firefighter. Another officer was seriously wounded.

Eastern Algeria has been an Islamist stronghold but the Tebessa region, near the Tunisian border some 630 kilometers (400 miles) east of Algiers, has been largely spared the violence blamed on Islamic militants.

Security services said the attack was also unusual in targeting civilians as most were against security force personnel or public buildings within 100 kilometers of the capital where the north African branch of Al-Qaeda is active.

It was the worst attack since bombs placed outside a paramilitary police barracks in Issers, east of Algiers on August 19, killed 48 people.

Bouteflika, 72 next month, announced Thursday he will run for a third term in April 9 elections he is almost certain to win.

He said he would stand as an "independent," pursue his policy of national reconciliation and "fight against terrorism with all necessary means" while leaving the door open to those who "repent."

Bouteflika is credited with helping to end a decade-long civil war that killed around 150,000 people following the 1992 cancellation of elections that an Islamic party had been poised to win.

Bouteflika proposed an amnesty for rebels who laid down their arms and twice secured public endorsement for his plans towards "national reconciliation" through referendums but sporadic violence persists.

After the attack at Issers in August, there were number of ambushes and suicide bomb attacks around Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou in eastern Algeria where the Al-Qaeda offshoot is known to operate.

The attacks have targeted army patrols and police, but also local mayors and customs officers.

Security forces say they have killed at least 40 Islamic militants in clashes in the past seven months.