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Algeria: Soldiers killed by Islamic militants in two attacks
 (AKI) - Islamic militants killed eight Algerian soldiers in two separate attacks on Sunday, days after seven people died in roadside bombs, local media reported on Monday. According to the Kuwaiti news agency, Kuna, the two attacks occurred in the provinces of Tebessa and Boumerdes in the east of the country.Rebels reportedly detonated a bomb as a military truck passed through Stah Aftis village near the border town of Tebessa, 700 kilometres east of Algiers, killing five soldiers and wounding four others. Three soldiers were also shot dead by Islamic militants at a checkpoint in Bordj Menail in the Boumerdes region just east of the capital. The off-duty soldiers were in civilian clothes when their bus was stopped by Islamist rebels disguised as soldiers, said the Algerian daily, El-Khabar. The militants then killed them. The latest attacks bring to 15 the number of people reported to have been killed by Islamist rebels since 12 February, when Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he would stand in elections to seek a third term in office. Al-Qaeda's north African wing, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings and attacks in the country in recent years. During the 1990s, the country was wracked by an insurgent conflict that killed an estimated 150,000 people. The violence has largely subsided after the government offered successive amnesties to encourage rebels to disarm. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-17 |
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