ALGIERS, Algeria -- A car bomb exploded Tuesday in an eastern suburb of Algeria's capital, severely injuring a former militant leader who has in recent years supported the president's efforts to end extremist violence, security forces said.
Mustapha Kertali had finished morning prayers in Larbaa near his home when the bomb detonated in his car, the officials said. He was in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
Kertali, 55, was a former leader of the Islamic Salvation Army, one of several militant groups involved in an insurgency in the North African country in the 1990s. It was disbanded as part of a 1999 accord with the government.
Since then, Kertali went into business and has been an outspoken supporter of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's amnesty programs aimed at ending violence that erupted in 1992 when the military canceled a legislative election that an Islamist party was set to win.
Up to 200,000 people have been killed in the bloodshed. While large-scale violence has died down, scattered attacks have continued -- some by a former insurgent group now known as al-Qaida in North Africa.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
