Two die in Algerian market bomb

ALGIERS, Algeria -- Two people were killed and 18 wounded when two bombs ripped through a packed Algerian market, a hospital official said.

The home-made bombs exploded on Friday at Guessab outdoor market in the small town of Ouled Yaich in Blida province, about 50 km (30 miles) south of the capital Algiers.

"The final toll is two dead and 18 hurt, three of them seriously wounded," a hospital official told Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

"The bombs, which were planted on the market ground, went off minutes apart at the time of peak shopping," the official APS news agency reported, quoting a government security source.

The government has blamed Islamic rebels for similar attacks in the past eight years in public places such as markets and schools in which hundreds of civilians have been killed.

The bombings could be part of an Islamic rebel campaign to create a climate of insecurity ahead of parliamentary elections on May 30, a source close to security forces told Reuters.

According to the government more than 100,000 people have been killed since early 1992 when the army-backed authorities scrapped an election which radical Islamists were poised to win.