Qaeda claims Algeria car bomb that kills four

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - A car rammed into a police station in Algeria on Wednesday and exploded, killing four policemen and injuring 20 people, state radio said.

Al Qaeda's north African wing said the Toyota laden with at least 500 kg (1100 lbs) of explosives was driven by one of its members, according to a recorded statement aired by Al Arabiya television.

The blast left a crater three meters (three yards) wide, wrecked the outside of the building and damaged nearby homes, shops and a cafe in the town of Naciria, about 120 km (75 miles) east of Algiers, witnesses said.

"This morning at 7 a.m. one of the lions of the al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, martyrdom-seeker Abdullah, ... drove (his car) into the judicial police quarters," a man told the Arabic TV news station.

He identified himself as Salah Abou Mohammad, a spokesman for the group.

An earlier Interior Ministry statement did not specify whether it was a suicide car bomb.

"We heard the loud thump of the blast at 7.15 a.m. (0615 GMT)," said one resident, who did not want to be named.

"A Toyota car was used in the bombing which killed four policemen and injured 20 people," state radio said.