UNITED NATIONS, August 20, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned this week's spate of attacks in Algeria and urged the international community to back the north African country's fight against terror.

Ban condemned both Tuesday's suicide bomb attack east of Algiers that killed 43 people and a subsequent pair of bomb attacks Wednesday that killed at least 12 people, his office said in a statement.

'He urges once again that the international community support the efforts of the Government of Algeria to combat terrorism,' it said.

'The Secretary General firmly believes that violence will not deter the people of Algeria from the path of peace and national reconciliation.'

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an Al-Qaeda group has staged several attacks in Algeria over the past year and has been involved in clashes with government forces in the oil and gas-rich state.

The government has reaffirmed its determination to 'combat' terrorism and pursue its policy of national reconciliation, which has seen the pardoning of several Islamists.