Suicide bomber kills four in Algeria

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

THENIA, Algeria (AFP) — A suicide bomber drove into a hail of bullets to set off a bomb outside a police station in eastern Algeria that security services said killed four people and injured 20.

A series of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda's offshoot in North Africa has left hundreds dead over the past 12 months.

Three of the dead in Thenia, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Algiers, were police and security services feared the death toll would rise as several of the injured were in critical condition, some in a coma.

The blast caused extensive damage around police station, gutting at least seven buildings. The police station only suffered slight damage however.

Witnesses said police opened fire to stop the small van driven by the suicide bomber from...