Wildfires kill at least 26 in eastern Algeria

Wildfires raging in the forests of eastern Algeria have killed 26 people, according to a “provisional report” by the north African country's interior minister. Most victims were reported in the wilaya, or region, of El Tarf, near the northern Algerian-Tunisian border, where 24 people have been found dead, including eight of them on a public bus surprised by the flames as it was driving in a mountainous region. Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud also said on public television late Wednesday that two people died in the region of Setif, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Algiers.