Reports from Algeria say eight soldiers have been killed in an explosion south of the capital, Algiers.

One newspaper reported that the soldiers' vehicle ran over a landmine planted by Islamic militants in Sidi Hamed, in Blida province.

Meanwhile, the security forces said attackers dressed in police uniforms killed eleven farmers overnight, also in the Blida region.

Reports said the farmers were members of self-defence groups armed by the government to fight Islamic militants who have been waging a campaign of violence since 1992, when the government cancelled elections that Islamic parties seemed sure to win.