Another 57 people remained hospitalised from injuries suffered in Wednesday's blasts that struck the prime minister's office and a police station, said Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni, who made his comments to the official APS news agency after visiting hospitals.

Algeria's Prime Minister vowed that national elections will go ahead next month despite suicide bombing attacks.

"The objective was a media provocation shortly before the election," scheduled for May 17, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem told Al-Arabiya television late Wednesday.

"Those who resort to violence exclude themselves from the political process and elections form part of that political process."

The bombings, which followed closely after suicide blasts in neighbouring Morocco, were claimed by al-Qaeda's branch in North Africa, which published photographs of what it said were the three Algiers suicide bombers in an Internet statement.

The statement on an Islamist website often used by the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden said the car bombings killed at least 53 people.

The first of Wednesday's attacks was carried out by a bomber who drove an explosives-laden car into a guard post outside the government headquarters in central Algiers, police said.