Islamic extremists occupying northern Mali said Sunday they have executed an Algerian diplomat kidnapped five months ago, after an ultimatum given to his government to fulfill their demands expired.

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) said Algerian vice-consul Tahar Touati was executed on Saturday morning, and threatened the three other hostages still in their hands if Algiers does not comply with their demands.

Security forces in Algeria have killed 10 militants presumed to be members of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in separate operations, press reports on Saturday cited the Defense Ministry as saying.

They said nine AQIM members including a chief named as Boubeker Zemmouri, 29, were killed by soldiers in a special operation at Jebel Djerrah in the Beni Amrane area of Boumerdes province, 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Algiers.

Two young men have been arrested after seven graves were desecrated in a Christian cemetery of Rouiba, eastern Algeria, the country's media reported on Thursday.

The two youths, aged 19 and 26, appeared in court "for desecration of graves and put in custody," a police source was quoted as saying in the media. No other details were provided.

Local elections are to be held in Algeria on November 29, Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia announced on Saturday, quoted by Algerian radio.

"The local elections will take place on November 29" for 1,541 municipal councils and 48 general (wilaya) councils, Kablia said at a forum in Algiers organized by Liberte newspaper.

More than 12,000 Syrians fleeing the violence in their home country have sought refuge in Algeria, a source close to the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The authorities have decided to "take charge of Syrians who have sought refuge in Algeria, and whose number is estimated officially at 12,000," the source told AFP, although Syrian opposition sources put the number at up to 20,000.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika met Laurent Fabius on Monday on the French foreign minister's first official trip to an Arab country, focused on the political crisis in Algeria's neighbor Mali.

Before meeting Bouteflika, Fabius said they would discuss Franco-Algerian relations "as well as international questions."

An Islamist rebel group in northern Mali said Thursday it had freed three of seven Algerian diplomats kidnapped during the takeover of the city of Gao in April.

"We eventually agreed to free three of the seven hostages with us," said Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui, spokesman for the Movement of Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), without specifying when they were released.

Lebanese famed choreographer Abdul Halim Caracalla designed the historical musical “The Hero” that was staged at the seaside resort of Sidi Fredj in Algeria Wednesday, as part of the official festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day.

The musical brought together 800 actors, singers and ballet dancers and was transmitted live on public television. President Abdulaziz Bouteflika who attended the musical went up onto the stage to congratulate the artistes.

Algerian authorities have identified a suicide attacker who killed one person and wounded three at a paramilitary police headquarters in the town of Ouargla, al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Investigators have "identified the DNA of the attacker," local commander Colonel Tahar Othmani was quoted as saying on al-Watan's website, without naming the person.

One person was killed and three wounded in a dawn attack Friday against the regional headquarters of the paramilitary police in the center of the Algerian town of Ouargla, the police said.

According to initial reports cited by the APS news agency, the attack was carried out "by a terrorist who sought to break into the headquarters building in his vehicle, after an exchange of fire with gendarmes."