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| Africa North |
| Algerian army kills seven militants in al Qaeda stronghold |
| 2013-05-08 |
| The Algerian army killed seven Islamist militants in their stronghold east of Algiers, the defense ministry said on Wednesday, as government forces stepped up operations against suspected al Qaeda-linked fighters. It was the largest government offensive against militants since an audacious assault on a desert gas plant in January in which 37 foreigners died. Four militants were killed in an ambush in the Tizi Ouzou province and three others died in a separate operation in the nearby Boumerdes province on Monday night, the ministry said in a statement carried on the official APS news agency. The two mountainous provinces are where the leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdel, is believed to be based, but there was no indication he had been caught up in the clashes. Six assault rifles and "an important quantity" of ammunition were also seized. |
| Posted by:tipper |