CAIRO: Five Algerian players were hurt when stone-throwing home fans attacked their team bus on Thursday ahead of Saturday's World Cup play-off match against Egypt.

Two of the injured players, Khaled Lemmuchia and Rafiq Hallish, were struck on the head, according to the MP, who is a member of the delegation. The injured players were treated at the squad's hotel. The incident, which happened as the Algerian squad was being taken from the airport to their hotel, sparked a diplomatic war of words. Egyptian police insisted that there were no injuries, but Algeria's foreign minister said several players had been hurt and demanded security be tightened for Saturday's game where a place at the 2010 World Cup finals is at stake.

In Algiers, foreign minister Mourad Medelci "strongly comdemned" the attack which he described as serious and demanded that his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit take all measures to guarantee the security of the delegation. Medelci said that "several" players had been hurt.