Anti-terrorist sweep claims 29
2007-10-08 15:20
Algiers - An army operation against a group suspected of links to al-Qaeda has left 22 militants and seven soldiers dead in recent days, say reports.
Security officials would not immediately comment on the sweep, which reportedly targeted the region of Tebessa, 400 miles east of the capital, Algiers.
Anti-terrorist forces launched an operation on Thursday based on information from 11 suspects arrested last week and believed tied to a suicide bombing that targeted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's convoy on September 06, said reports.
That bombing left at least 22 dead, and was claimed by a group called al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa.
For about a month, about 20 fighters believed involved with the al-Qaeda affiliate had been hiding out in the forests in the Tebessa region, said Liberte.
The report said the sweep killed 22 Islamic militants. Seven soldiers were killed after a homemade bomb exploded, it said.
Algeria had seen a revival of violence in recent months after a period of relative quiet following an insurgency that ripped the country apart in the 1990s and had left as many as 200 000 dead.
Isolated hard-line Islamic groups had now aligned with al-Qaeda to recover ground, delivering a string of setbacks this year to government efforts to bring calm and prosperity to this oil- and gas-rich country.
In recent months, the army repeatedly had bombed and burned forests, where rebels were believed to be hiding.
- AP