French President Francois Hollande arrived in Algeria on Wednesday for a landmark visit to the former French territory, amid hopes of a new phase in relations but persistent bitterness over crimes committed during colonial rule.

Hollande was received with full honors by his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika as he got off the plane.

Renault will sign a pact Wednesday to build its first plant in Algeria during a highly symbolic visit by President Francois Hollande to the former French colony, a company spokeswoman said.

"Renault will sign the agreement tomorrow," she said, confirming press reports.

Tunisian security forces have lost track of an armed group that killed a policeman in the border near Algeria this week, a security official said on Wednesday.

"The search operation was moved to Mount Chaambi on the basis of unconfirmed information about the presence of armed men" in the area, the site of the attack, said the official from the Kasserine region.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika told Agence France Presse in an exclusive interview that Algeria wants "strong and dynamic" relations with France, ahead of a visit to Algiers by French President Francois Hollande.

Algeria "favors a strong and dynamic relationship with France, based on the depth of links and the many interests which unite our two countries," Bouteflika said in a written reply to questions from AFP.

Tunisia Policeman Killed in Clashes on Algeria Border

A Tunisian policeman was killed in clashes with gunmen in Kasserine on the border with Algeria on Monday, a security source said, adding that military reinforcements were sent to the region.

Police in Tunisia have seized guns and explosives and arrested two men from the Salafist stronghold of Jendouba, a security source said on Saturday.

The men were detained in the Fernana area near the Algerian border after a check on the rented car they were driving, Shems FM radio reported, citing the security source. Another two men escaped.

The ruling National Liberation Front won Algeria's municipal and regional elections, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia announced on Friday, in a widely-expected result.

Voter turnout, considered the only real issue in Thursday's polls, was officially pegged at 44.27 percent, described by Kablia as "acceptable," as thousands had to brave poor weather conditions to cast their ballots.

Several dozen Algerian jihadists have arrived in Timbuktu to support armed Islamist groups controlling northern Mali, who have toughened their application of strict Islamic law, security sources said Sunday.

"Dozens of Algerian jihadists arrived in Timbuktu this weekend to reinforce the AQIM (Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb) camp," a regional security source told Agence France Presse.

Nearly a week from regional elections, Algerians are less interested in the public vote than an intensifying behind-the-scenes power struggle — one that is playing out through a flurry of corruption probes.

Though ostensibly a democracy, Algeria is really ruled by a powerful president and a shadowy collection of military generals and intelligence chiefs, making figuring out who has real power a constant preoccupation.

The Algerian army has killed three Islamists in the restive Kabylie region, including Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb's top military commander, several Algerian newspapers reported on Monday.

Rabah Makhfi, 45, also known as Sheikh Nacer and considered AQMI leader Abdelmalek Droukdel's right hand man, was among the three killed in Bejaia, 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Algiers, on Friday, Arabic-language daily Ennahar reported.