Blast at Algerian rural police headquarters

A bomb has exploded outside the headquarters of the national rural police force in northern Algeria. Locals heard the blast near the Gendarmerie Nationale base in the town of Lakhdaria, Bouira Province on Monday evening. Residents in the Qandahar neighbourhood of Lakhdaria claimed there had been an exchange of fire between Gendarmerie Nationale guards and armed militants after the blast. Security officials have been unable to access the area due to a tense stand-off between the guards and the attackers. The Gendarmerie Nationale main office in Lakhdaria was built in 2011.