At least 34 people have been killed, including 10 soldiers, as wildfires swept across regions of Algeria, the Interior Ministry said.

The massive wildfires were caused by a heatwave that has spread across North Africa and Southern Europe. Some 8,000 firefighters were battling to bring the flames under control, authorities said.

The Interior Ministry said it is continuing its firefighting operations in the Boumerdes, Bouira, Tizi Ouzou, Jijel, Bejaia and Skikda regions.

About 1,500 people have been evacuated so far.

The authorities have launched a judicial investigation into the causes of the fires.

A major heatwave is sweeping across North Africa, with temperatures of 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in some cities in neighboring Tunisia.

In Tunisia, wildfires swept through the border town of Melloula. Witnesses told Reuters that fires that had begun in mountainous areas had reached some people's homes in the town and forced hundreds of families to flee.

A civil protection official said that they had evacuated hundreds of the town's residents by land and by sea, in fishermen's boats and coastguard vessels.