In the blast Saturday, explosives planted in a van ripped through barracks in the northern coastal town of Dellys, about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, from Algiers. The bombing appeared to be timed to kill as many officers as possible when they were grouped together to raise the flag.

Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa took responsibility in a statement posted on the group's Web site, and said it also was behind a blast Thursday that killed at least 22 in eastern Algeria.

"We swear to God to continue sacrificing our lives until you stop supporting the crusaders in their war, apply the Islamic tenet and stop your war against God's religion," the group said in the statement.

Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa has carried out a series of recent bombings that have shattered the Algerian government's efforts - successful until recently - to restore calm after a 15-year Islamist insurgency.

The government has responded by intensifying military crackdowns on Islamic militants hiding out in remote areas. Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni warned terrorists Friday that they had "one choice: Turn themselves in, or die."

The bombing Saturday killed 30 coastguardsmen, the Interior Minister said. Dozens were wounded. It was the deadliest attack in Algeria since April, when triple suicide bombings against the prime minister's office and a police station killed 32.

In New York, Jean-Maurice Ripert, the French ambassador to the United Nations and president of the Security Council, condemned the bombing, calling it a "heinous terrorist attack."

The bombing Thursday struck a crowd of people waiting to see President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has devoted his eight years in office to ending violence by insurgents. His government is also a staunch U.S. ally in the war against terror.

Al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa said the bomber "carried out a suicide attack with his explosive belt" targeting Bouteflika during his visit to the town. "Unable to reach him, he exploded himself amid the security men."

The insurgency in Algeria broke out in 1992 after the army canceled elections that a now-banned Islamic party had been poised to win. Up to 200,000 people have been killed in the ensuing violence.

Widespread killings were on the wane until this year, when the Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, officially linked up with al-Qaida, taking the name al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa.

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