A statement, carried by national news agency APS, did not give a breakdown of the 102 Islamists it said were no longer battling Algerian security forces.

Large quantities of arms and ammunition – including automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and almost 1,300 explosive devices – were seized in security sweeps between January and June, it said.

Islamist-linked violence rocked Algeria in the 1990s but has since waned, although armed groups remain active in central and eastern Algeria where they mount attacks on security forces.

The army says more than 100 Islamists were killed last year.