Wildfire rips through Algeria, killing 42 people including soldiers

A civil protection rescue worker walks near smoke rising from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province, east of Algiers, Algeria August 10, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar

ALGIERS (Reuters) -Forest fires in Algeria killed 42 people on Tuesday, including 25 soldiers deployed to help put out the blaze, the government said, as thick clouds of smoke covered much of the mountainous Kabylie region east of the capital.

Dozens of separate fires have raged through forest areas across northern Algeria since Monday night and Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud accused arsonists of igniting the flames, without providing more details on the allegations.