Algerian troops killed two suspected armed Islamists east of the capital on Tuesday, the defense ministry said, bringing to 14 the number of militants killed this month.

"An army detachment... eliminated two terrorists this morning, May 13, 2014, in the Gueltet Echakour locality in the Kaddara area of Boumerdes province," the ministry said.

A dozen Islamists have been killed over the past week by the Algerian army in the southern Tamanrasset province near the border with strife-torn Mali, the defense ministry announced Monday.

Soldiers found the bodies of two Islamist fighters on Monday at Tin Zaouatine in Algeria's far south, after a gun battle with the army which has been hunting militants in the area since May 5.

Security forces from Algeria and Niger are searching for dozens of illegal migrants who went missing in the vast desert between the two countries, an Algerian lawmaker told Agence France Presse Sunday.

"Some people, Africans, are lost in the desert and the security services of both countries, Algeria and Niger, are searching for them," said Mohamed Guemama, an MP with the ruling National Liberation Front.

Algerian armed forces killed nine armed Islamists near the Malian border on Monday, the defense ministry said.

The "terrorist group of nine criminals" died after clashes with the army in the Taoundert border area, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tin Zaoutine in Tamanrasset province, the APS news agency quoted a ministry statement as saying.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday named the first cabinet of his fourth term in office, retaining most key senior ministers and headed again by Abdelmalek Sellal, the presidency announced.

Bouteflika, who was re-elected by a landslide in last month's leadership contest despite grave concerns about his health, had already reappointed Sellal as his prime minister, after the latter stepped down in February to run his election campaign.

Hundreds of Christians in Muslim Algeria attended a ceremony Friday at the newly restored Basilica of St Augustine in Annaba, the city of Hippo in ancient times, APS news agency reported.

Pope Francis was represented at the celebration by special envoy Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, chairman of the pontifical council for inter-religious dialogue.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility Thursday for an April ambush in Algeria's restive Kabylie region that killed 11 soldiers.

"On the night of April 19, mujahedeen ambushed an army convoy in the Iboudrarene region... The toll was around 30 soldiers killed or wounded, some of them seriously," said a statement posted online.

Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, whose group occupied northern Mali in 2012, pledged allegiance to al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a statement posted Wednesday on Islamist websites.

Belmokhtar was a leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which, along with other armed Islamist groups, took advantage of a military coup in 2012 to occupy northern Mali before being driven out by French and African troops.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika "flunked" a test of his oral skills at his inauguration, newspapers said Tuesday, raising doubts about the stroke victim's ability to effectively carry out his duties.

Sitting in a wheelchair, the ailing 77-year-old Bouteflika struggled to recite the oath of office and give a speech at his televised inauguration on Monday, following his re-election for a fourth term.

Abdelmalek Sellal, who stepped down as Algeria's prime minister in March to run Abdelaziz Bouteflika's presidential campaign, returned to the post on Monday, an official announcement said.

Earlier in the day, Bouteflika was sworn in as Algeria's president for a fourth term, a year after suffering a mini-stroke that was expected to end his 15-year grip on power.