Militants kill 5 in Algeria
2005-09-26 16:57
Algiers - Five members of Algeria's security forces were killed and five wounded over the weekend in attacks attributed to Islamic militants, newspapers reported on Monday.
Two "patriots" - armed civilians - were killed and another wounded on Sunday by an armed group in Layoune in the Aid Defla region, about 160km west of Algiers.
Also on Sunday, one soldier was killed and five wounded when a bomb went off as a convoy passed it near Dellys in the Boumerdes region, 50km east of Algiers.
Two gendarmes were killed near their barracks in Rebahia, near Saida, some 430km southeast of the capital, the same sources said.
Newspapers noted a slight rise in attacks allegedly by Islamic militants in the run-up to Sunday's referendum on national reconciliation.
On September 22, 10 people, including seven soldiers, were killed in two attacks blamed on armed Islamic groups in the east of the country.
The total number of people killed in such attacks since the beginning of September is now at least 44, including 24 soldiers.
- AFP