Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday praised Algeria's role in trying to resolve conflicts in neighboring Mali and Libya during a visit to the North African country.

Castro, who arrived Sunday in Algiers, told state television on the second day of a three-day visit that he held talks with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on "regional" issues.

Alcohol has resurfaced as a hot-button issue in Algerian politics, with ultra-conservative Muslims angered by plans to liberalise sales in a country torn between respect for Islam and freedom of choice.

With deeply-conservative Salafists threatening to take to the streets, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal in mid-April blocked a circular issued by Commerce Minister Amara Benyounes liberalising the wholesale trade of alcohol.

Mauritania and Algeria were embroiled in a diplomatic row Monday after the tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats over a contentious news article on drugs being smuggled from Morocco.

Mauritanian online news portal Al-Bayan has angered the authorities in Nouakchott by publishing an article claiming they had complained to the United Nations that Morocco was flooding Mauritania with drugs.

Two Tunisian soldiers and 10 presumed jihadists have been killed in clashes in rugged terrain near the border with Algeria this week, the defense ministry said on Friday.

"Another two soldiers have been martyred and seven wounded in this army operation on Mount Salloum," spokesman Belhassen Oueslati told AFP.

Algerian troops killed three armed Islamists and recovered weapons and ammunition west of Algiers on Wednesday, the defense ministry said.

The three were killed at around 1:00 am (0200 GMT) in an ambush close to the town of Hamman Righa, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the capital, said a statement on the ministry website.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called Friday for a new push to resolve the conflict over Western Sahara and stressed that cooperation to address human rights could help find a settlement.

In a report to the Security Council, Ban said Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front must "seriously engage" with his envoy and "intensify their efforts" to end the conflict over the north African territory.

Algerian troops killed four armed Islamists and recovered weapons and ammunition during an operation not far from the capital on Thursday, the defense ministry said.

The four were shot in Oued Ouakser, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Algiers, a statement said.

A Dutch hostage freed after being held by al-Qaida-linked extremists in Mali for more than three years was due to arrive in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, Dutch and Malian diplomatic sources said.

Train driver Sjaak Rijke, abducted while on holiday in Timbuktu in November 2011, was freed in a raid on al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) by French special forces on Monday.

One of France's top Muslim leaders has called for the number of mosques to double over the next two years to remedy a shortage of places of worship for the country's millions of faithful.

Speaking at a weekend gathering of French Islamic organisations, where participants asked for respect in the face of a rise in anti-Muslim attacks, Dalil Boubakeur said the 2,200 mosques in the country did not adequately represent Europe's largest Muslim community.

Algeria evacuated 160 of its citizens from war-torn Yemen on Saturday as a Saudi-led coalition continued a bombing campaign against rebel targets in the Arabian peninsula, national news agency APS reported.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called for the operation after monitoring the deteriorating security situation in Yemen in recent days, foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra said.