ALGIERS, Algeria — Emergency workers searched for bodies and survivors today after twin truck bombings by an affiliate of al-Qaida targeted U.N. offices and a government building in Algiers, killing at least 30 people.

With at least 11 United Nations workers among the dead, the attack was the worst against staff of the world body since an August 2003 bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad killed 22.

"Words cannot express my sense of shock, outrage and anger at the terrorist attack on the United Nation in Algiers yesterday," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said from a climate conference in Bali, Indonesia. "This was an abject and cowardly strike against civilian officials serving humanity's highest ideals under the U.N. banner. It was base, indecent and unjustifiable by any standards."

Emergency workers spent the night digging through gutted buildings in a search for victims, and cranes hoisted large chunks of debris. Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on France's Europe-1 radio that the overall death toll was 30.

Five or six people remained trapped under the rubble today, according to the Civil Protection agency, the official APS news agency said. Scores of people were wounded but the foreign minister said 26 remained hospitalized Wednesday.

JERUSALEM — Israelis and Palestinians resumed peace negotiations for the first time in nearly seven years today, trying to reconcile conflicting claims and clashing dreams in a bid to end six decades of conflict.The talks went ahead despite a new outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip. Early today, Palestinian militants fired 16 homemade rockets toward Israel, causing minor damage and slightly wounding one woman, Israeli officials said.The barrage came hours after Israeli forces ended a broad incursion into the coastal strip that killed six militants and left a wide swath of damage.Israel's incursion into Gaza, along with a plan to expand a neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem, prompted Palestinian charges that Israel was sabotaging the atmosphere even before the talks began. Israel rejected the charges.Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said the talks got under way around midday. He said both sides wanted to keep the meeting "low key," but there were hopes to "jump start" the peace process.

BAGHDAD — Three car bombs exploded in quick succession in a southern Iraqi city on today, killing at least 26 people and wounding 100 in a Shiite region that has largely escaped the country's sectarian bloodshed, authorities said.Police in Amarah imposed an immediate driving ban and Iraqi soldiers deployed on the streets.The explosions were about five minutes apart, beginning about 10 a.m., when an explosives-laden car parked in a garage blew up, local police and an intelligence official said.Another car about 50 yards away exploded shortly afterward as people gathered to examine the damage from the first, police said.The third blast occurred across the street from a movie theater, also about 50 yards away, police said.The explosions could be felt a half-mile away, said Salam Hussein Jabir, who runs a travel agency in the city. He said his office windows shook and two pictures fell off the walls, and he ran outside to see what had happened."It was really tremendous," said Hussein, a 44-year old father of three. "This is the first time we've gone through anything like this."Hussein said people initially thought it was a mortar attack. Then the second car exploded.