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Algerian army kills 20 Qaeda militants
The Algerian army killed 20 members of Al Qaeda when militants attacked in the troubled Kabylie region, prompting a major counter-offensive by security forces, newspapers reported on Tuesday. The militants were killed over the past two days after the army surrounded them in a forest, El Watan and Liberte said. The fighting began on July 14 when the army foiled an Al Qaeda attack on two police stations in Yakourene village in Tizi Ouzou province about 100 km (60 miles) east of Algiers. Two hours of fighting ensued in which four members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were killed and some 60 others fled to a nearby forest. The military then used night vision equipment to locate the militants before starting to bomb them on Sunday, forcing some to surrender, the newspapers said citing sources close to the troops carrying out the operation. The army later found a computer containing files listing the names of 572 militants, all thought to have attended a meeting of Al Qaedas North African wing days before the attack on the police stations, the newspapers said. Posted by: Fred 2007-07-25 |
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