Updated

British Prime Minister David Cameron and the head of the country's international spy agency MI6 have arrived in Algeria for talks on strengthening security cooperation following an attack on a natural gas plant in the north African nation.

The Jan. 16 attack on Algeria's Ain Amenas gas plant ignited a four-day siege with Algerian forces in which at least 37 hostages and 29 militants were killed.

Cameron told reporters on his flight to Algeria on Wednesday that his aim is to help the country "help itself" amid a growing threat from al-Qaida-linked terrorists in the region, according to Britain's Press Association.

The prime minister also was accompanied by U.K. National Security Adviser Sir Kim Darroch. It is the first visit from a serving British prime minister since Algeria gained independence in 1962.