Hours after a new warning from Islamic militants, a car bomb exploded Friday in Algiers, the Algerian capital, near housing for police officers and their families, wounding at least 63 people.

The Armed Islamic Group, considered the most violent faction battling the Algerian government, had warned hours earlier that it would begin a campaign this weekend to kill wives, daughters and other women related to police and army personnel unless fundamentalist women were freed from Algerian prisons.

In a statement faxed to a newspaper by its leadership, the faction accused the army of jailing unknown numbers of women who support or are relatives of Islamic foes of the government.