At least eight people have been killed in a sucide bombing in Algeria, local radio has reported.

Nineteen people were also injured in the blast, when a bomber rammed a van full of explosives into a police station in the northern part of the country on Saturday night.

The attack happened at Zemmouri el-Bahri, a popular beach with holidaymakers, near Boumerdes, east of the capital Algiers.

An officer fired on the vehicle as it was approaching the police station causing the car to explode before it hit the building, the local radio said citing security officials.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

A bombing last week at a police station in another northern city injured more than 20 people.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, an al-Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for that attack, and said it had been a suicide car bombing.