The SNC-Lavalin staff were traveling to work on the Koudiat Acerdoune water treatment plant and distribution project when their bus was attacked, the company said.

"We would like all our employees to know that we strongly deplore this act of terrorism," said SNC-Lavalin, which has worked on projects in the country for the past 30 years.

Also, "SNC-Lavalin would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the families of the victims -- and to those who are currently being treated in a local hospital," it said.

SNC-Lavalin is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure, and in the provision of operations and maintenance services in some 100 countries.

Two car bomb attacks in eastern Algeria killed at least 11 people, Algerian state radio reported earlier Wednesday, with the country still in shock from a suicide bomber who killed 43 people a day earlier.

At least 31 people were wounded in the latest attacks in the town of Bouira, one on a passenger bus and another near a military headquarters, Algerian radio said.