Algiers: At least eight suspected militants and two soldiers were killed during clashes with the Algerian army this week as authorities conducted large sweeps against Al Qaida-linked terrorist bases near the capital, officials and local media said Saturday.

Three militants were slain on Thursday after the army attacked a terrorist stronghold in the Amejoudh area next to Tizi Ouzou, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the capital, Algiers, an official and local media said.

The gunbattle lasted a full day before militants retreated further into the mountains of Kabylie, an often restive region that has borne the brunt in recent months of attacks by Al Qaida in Islamic North Africa, a local affiliate of the global terror organisation.

Soldiers and paramilitary communal guards found stocks of automatic weapons, medicine and computer gear at the bases they stormed in the woods, a local official in Tizi Ouzou said.

The official confirmed that two soldiers were killed and about 10 troops or guards injured in the fighting.