Two Algerian soldiers and two militants were killed in a firefight near the desert border with Niger, the North African country's defense ministry said Friday.
"Following a clash with a terrorist group along the border zone in the Hassi Tiririne region... two soldiers were killed on the field of honor," the ministry said.
Two "terrorists" were also killed, it added.
The Algerian army regularly reports they have arrested or "neutralized" extremists.
On January 1, the defense ministry said 23 "terrorists" had been neutralized and over 200 arrested over the course of last year.