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AFP
A roadside bomb blast killed four people and injured 10 other passengers on a bus east of the Algerian capital on Sunday, local news websites reported.

A security source confirmed the blast to AFP but did not give a toll or say whether the victims were civilians or military.

According to the website of the French-language El Watan, some of the victims were in a critical condition and not all of them were on the bus.

The Arab-language En Nahar said the bomb had been intended for a military convoy but went off early and hit a civilian bus transporting people between Les Issers and Bordj Menail, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) east of Algiers.

El Watan said the bomb was detonated remotely as a convoy of security forces were going past and gunshots were also heard.

The road was closed to traffic for several hours and only reopened after all traces of the attack had been removed, it added.

The region east of Algiers is one of those most affected by attacks from Islamist groups, notably Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which regularly targets security forces.