THE death toll from two car that exploded in Algiers on has risen to at least 20, an newspaper said yesterday.
The body of a woman was dug from the rubble of a town hall where one bomb was detonated on Sunday morning at the Muslim stronghold of Bab el Oued, and a man later died of injuries sustained in the blast, the newspaper al Khabar said.
An estimated 50,000 people have been killed in Algeria's violence since early 1992 when army backed authorities cancelled a general election the Islamists were set to win.
Meanwhile, Algerian workers started a two day strike to pressurise the government to scrap announced wage cuts.
Union officers and energy sector officials said the stoppage, called by Algeria's main trade union, UGTA, spared gas and oil production and export facilities.