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CAIRO — Five Algerian players were hurt when stone-throwing home fans attacked their team bus on Thursday ahead of Saturday's highly-charged World Cup qualifier against Egypt, an Algerian MP said.

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, he told AFP, asking not to be named.

The incident, which happened as the Algerian squad was being taken from the airport to their hotel, immediately 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.

Algeria youth and sports minister Hachemi Djiar told Algerian radio that the "very regrettable incident" had been caused by a group of youngsters who had hidden behind roadside bushes before throwing stones at the bus.

"(World governing body) FIFA must take action...(what happened) is not acceptable, even if this cannot change the ancient relations between our two countries."

Djiar told AFP: "We Algerians are peaceful, we don't want to provoke anything."

The pre-match atmosphere in Egypt has surged to feverish heights amid an unprecedented level of tension between the North African rivals.

Verbal sparring between the two countries' supporters has reached such a pitch that both governments have issued appeals for calm.

On the internet, Algerian and Egyptian fans have traded abuse, reviving a decades-old, on-pitch enmity that erupted into violent riots during a similar qualifier in 1989.

Algeria need only draw Saturday's match to qualify for the World Cup.

Around 70,000 Egyptian spectators are expected to pack the stadium with around 2,000 tickets allocated to Algerian fans.