10 die in Algeria police battle

Algiers (Reuter) - Algerian police killed 10 rebels in a gun battle yesterday - the bloodiest clash since Islamic fundamentalists were driven underground earlier this year.

The fight took place around an unfinished house used by the militants as a hideout near Baba Hassen, 60km (40 miles) from Algiers, according to an Interior Ministry statement carried by the official news agency, APS.

Police surrounded the hideout, and rebels inside opened fire, the statement said. Three policemen were wounded.