Most of those injured in Saturday's quake were in Boumerdes, a city 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the capital.

The Algerian center for astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics said the temblor was another aftershock of a quake which killed 2,300 people and injured more than 11,000 in the Algiers and Boumerdes area in May last year.

The epicenter of both quakes was located around Zemmouri near Boumerdes. Zemmouri was completely devastated in the 2003 quake which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.

More than 1,000 aftershocks have been registered since that quake.

The injuries of the latest quake, said not to be serious, were mainly due to panic among residents of the quake-hit area, the radio said, adding that there had been little material damage.

TERRA.WIRE