Algeria denounces Iran

The prime minister of Algeria, Ahmed Ouyahia, has accused Iran of being the foremost supporter of the Islamic extremists who've been blamed for carrying out massacres inside Algeria.

He said the government in Teheran occupied first place in the list of foreign countries striking against Algeria.

In a speech to Parliament, Mr Ouyahia also repeated that European capitals -- especially London -- were being used to gather money and weapons for what he called a barbaric campaign of terrorism inside Algeria.

Earlier in his speech, Mr Ouyahia said twenty-six thousand civilians and security personnel had been killed in the past six years -- far fewer than the figure of eighty thousand cited by diplomats and human rights groups who've been monitoring the civil conflict in Algeria.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service