Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has declared three days of national mourning for the 257 people, mostly soldiers and their families, who were killed when a military plane crashed after taking off from a base in southern Algeria.
The Algerian president also "ordered" a funeral prayer to be held in memory of the victims on Friday, April 13, the presidency said in a statement, according to the state-run APS news agency.