Algeria rattled by strong tremor

A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Algerian coast early Thursday morning, the US Geological Survey said.

The USGS said the quake hit 20 kilometres north-east of the city of Bejaia at 1.04am local time , at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The earthquake caused panic among the Algerian population but there were no casualties or structural damage, the Algerian Civil Protection said in a statement.

The earthquake was also registered in various Mediterranean countries among them Malta and Italy.

Read more via ANSA