Algiers - Eight members of an Algerian Army parachute unit were killed in a battle with a group of presumed Islamic terrorists, the online edition of the daily El Watan reported Wednesday.

Another eight soldiers were gravely wounded in the skirmish, which took place Tuesday near the city of Biskra, about 435 kilometres south of the capital Algiers.

According to the report, the soldiers were on their way to an anti-terrorist operation when bombs concealed on the roadway exploded and they came under heavy gunfire.

The attackers, who numbered more than 50 men, made off with the soldiers' weapons.(dpa)