At least 257 people have died after an Algerian military plane crashed in the north of the country.
A Russian-designed Il-76 military transport plane crashed near Boufarik airbase outside the Algerian capital, Algiers, killing all 257 on board.
The plane, carrying mostly soldiers and was heading to the western Algerian city of Bechar, went down shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning.
Algerian TV network, Ennahar, published images of body bags lined up in a field after the crash.
Algeria’s defence ministry issued a statement expressing condolences to families of the victims.
Among the dead are said to be 26 members of the Polisario Front, seeking independence from partial Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
Today’s incident is the deadliest plane crash since July 2014, when all 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 died when it was shot down over Ukraine.
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