Rebel arms stash found

2006-03-27 22:15

Algiers - Algerian security forces have unearthed a large store of weapons suspected of belonging to Islamist rebels, the daily El Watan reported on Monday.

The cache, discovered near Ain Defla, 160km west of Algiers, included about 30 brand new rockets, more than 100 detonators and a similar number of home made bombs, Kalashnikov rifles and large quantities of ammunition, the paper said.

The arms were found in bunkers in a forest near the town during a search operation for rebels, the paper said, quoting an unidentified security source.

The area was a stronghold of the Armed Islamic Groups organisation which was largely wiped out by security forces in 2005 after more than a decade of violence which killed at least 150 000 people.

Low-level attacks and clashes with security forces still occur, though the government has begun to release Islamic rebels jailed for "terrorism" under a reconciliation charter aimed at bringing the violence to an end.

- SAPA