Algerian President Bouteflika leaves French hospital

The president is a veteran of the country's independence movement

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has flown back to Algeria following a two-day stay at a French hospital.

The elderly leader, who suffered a stroke last year, was admitted for treatment in Grenoble on Thursday.

The reason for his admittance remains unknown. The Algerian government has not commented on the issue.

The 77-year-old, who has led the country since 1999, has rarely been seen in public since his re-election to a fourth term in April.

High security

The French regional newspaper Le Dauphine Libere said on Friday that Mr Bouteflika had been admitted to the cardiology unit of a private clinic in the south-eastern French town.

The paper reported that an entire floor of the clinic had been booked out to ensure maximum security.

President Bouteflika is a veteran of the Algeria's war of independence from France, which ended in 1962.

He was elected president in 1999, following the country's bloody civil war in the 1990s.

His most recent election victory in 2014 was criticised by opposition parties, who said the polls were flawed and that Mr Bouteflika was unfit to run because of his health problems.

Mr Bouteflika was taken to hospital in Paris in 2005 due to a stomach ulcer, sparking concerns about his health.

The Alembert clinic in Grenoble, where the president is reportedly being treated