ROME, August 19, 2008 (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday denounced a suicide attack in Algeria that claimed at least 43 lives, offering Italy's solidarity against 'barbarity.'

'Dear President (Abdelaziz Bouteflika), I wish to convey my sincere condolences and assure you of my solidarity with the victims of terrorism. Italy stands beside Algeria in the fight against all barbarity,' Berlusconi said, according to a statement.

The attack outside a police school in Issers, east of Algiers, killed 43 people and wounded 45, according to the latest preliminary toll by the Algerian interior ministry.