Algeria suicide bomb kills 43 as Al Qaida blamed

A SUICIDE bomber rammed an explosives- rigged car into a police academy yesterday as recruits lined up to register for classes, killing at least 43 people.

The Interior Ministry said 42 civilians and a police officer were killed in the attack in the town of Les Issers, some 35 miles east of the capital, Algiers.

Witnesses said all roads within two miles of Les Issers were blocked as police closed off the area.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the country’s al-Qaida affiliate has said it was behind a series of bombings in the past two years.

Tuesday’s attack was one of the largest — if not the largest — in years.

In December, a double suicide bombing in Algiers killed 41 people, including 17 UN workers. In April 2007, coordinated suicide strikes against the main government offices in central Algiers and a police station killed 33.

Those attacks, like most of those recently, were claimed by al-Qaida.