Algerian troops, stepping up assaults on Al QaedaÂ’s north African wing after suicide bombings last month, killed seven members of the group in fighting east and west of Algiers, newspapers reported on Saturday. Troops backed by helicopters killed four militants believed to belong to the Al Qaeda Organisation in a big offensive in Tizi Ouzou province 100 km east of the capital Algiers, the El Watan and the El Khabar said. The offensive was launched in the Kabylie region on Tuesday and was still going on, they said, citing security sources. The Liberte newspaper said one soldier was killed and one seriously injured in the skirmishes, which took place in the past two days. In a separate operation, the army killed three Islamic rebels late on Thursday in the western province of Saida, 435 km (270 miles) from Algiers, said the Liberte and the Le Soir dÂ’Algerie. The oil- and gas-exporting country has been on alert since a triple suicide bombing killed 33 people in Algiers on April 11. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, or GSPC, claimed responsibility for the bombings. The group said on Tuesday it would carry out more suicide bombings and urged Muslims to join its ranks as suicide bombers.