A bomb in the Algerian capital has killed at least one person and blown apart the bus on which it was planted.

BBC Correspondent Jim Muir in Algiers: "It was a savage reminder" (1'43'')

The explosion happened during the European Union delegation's visit to the country to investigate a series of massacres in recent months.

One man died and more than 20 were injured

The Algiers bomb attack also follows reports of further mass killings in rural parts of Algeria on Monday night.

No-one could immediately say how many people had died as a result of the bomb but eyewitnesses said the bus was surrounded by pools of blood.

Security services said at least 23 people had been injured by the blast in a busy street in the Ben Aknoun district of the Algiers.

Hospital sources confirmed the number of injured and said six were in a serious condition.

The bus was in a busy city street

Also on Tuesday, Le Matin newspaper reported a spate of foiled bombings in the capital.

The EU delegation in Algeria said its visit had been worthwhile and that it intended to hold a news conference to report fully on progress.

The delegation is composed of the deputy foreign ministers of Britain, Austria and Luxembourg who are spending 18 hours in Algeria.

The British minister, Derek Fatchett, who is leading the delegation, said it had met the Algerian Government.

"We discussed humanitarian issues, we found the meeting extremely useful. We had a further meeting this afternoon with the Prime Minister. We are now going to meet representatives of the official opposition, the legal opposition, parties."

The aim of the visit is to find ways of stopping the violence as well as establishing who is carrying out the massacres.

The Algerian Government blames Muslim militants but others have suggested paramilitaries opposed to the rise of Islam could equally be responsible for some of the atrocities.

The violence in Algeria began when the government cancelled elections because it appeared Muslim parties could gain control of the country.

Killings have escalated since the start of 1998, which has also been the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
 

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