Al QaedaÂ’s wing in North Africa says it has killed 20 Algerian soldiers and wounded 30 in clashes in its eastern stronghold, where the army has launched a campaign against the rebels.
In an Internet statement posted on Saturday, the group denied a newspaper report that 25 of its fighters had been killed and played down reports its leader had been surrounded. Liberte and El Watan reported last month that Abdelmalek Droudkel, also known as Abu Mus’ab Abd el-Wadoud may be among rebels that 9,000-10,000 troops had besieged in a mountainous area between the two eastern provinces of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia. “After the apostates trumpeted their major campaign to comb the Bejaia area, for which they gathered more than 10,000 troops and claimed to surround the emir of the organisation. The enemy told lies about the killing of 25 mujahideenm,” said the group.
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