Bomb kills 30 in Algeria market

ALGIERS, Algeria -- Up to 30 people are feared dead after a bomb exploded at an open-air market outside Algiers.

The official APS news agency reported 29 people dead and another 37 injured in Friday's blast which came as Algerians celebrated the 40th anniversary of independence from France.

It also occurred three days after the army Chief-off-Staff Lieutenant-General Mohamed Lamari declared that the government had won its war against Islamic guerrillas.

No group claimed responsibility for the bombing but security sources said the attack resembled many similar bombings in the past nine years that the government has blamed on Islamic rebels.

The bomb exploded at the Larba market, 15 miles east of the capital, APS said.

Further information was not immediately available and no one has so far claimed responsibility.

Islamic extremists who have led a 10-year insurgency in Algeria, trying to topple the North African country's military-backed government.

An estimated 120,000 people have been killed since the violence started in 1992 after the army aborted legislative elections to thwart victory by a Muslim fundamentalist party.

Extremists have been blamed for most bombings and other attacks.

Security has been tightened around the capital since Monday ahead of independence day. France ruled Algeria for more than 130 years.