Algerian land mine kills two
2005-09-21 14:24
Algiers - Two members of Algeria's security services were killed and five injured when a mine went off as an army patrol passed by, said reports on Wednesday.
The report said the attack occurred in Msila region, 245km south of Algiers.
The reports said it was the latest in a series of attacks that had taken the lives of at least 28 people since the beginning of the month, including a firefight that killed four members of the security forces on Friday in Skidda region, 500km east of Algiers.
The media had attributed the violence to the radical Islamist Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which was reputed close to al-Qaeda and was opposed to President Abdelaziz's proposed charter for peace and reconciliation, which would be put to a referendum on September 29.
The charter would end legal proceedings against Islamic extremists "who have already halted their armed activity and surrendered to the authorities", but excluded "those involved in mass massacres, rapes and bomb attacks in public places".
The charter was aimed at finally ending an Islamic insurgency that begun in 1992 when the army cancelled an election that an Islamic party was poised to win, and which had taken about 150 000 lives.
- AFP