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Algerian army kills 9 Islamists
20/11/2006 13:10 - (SA)
Algiers - The Algerian army killed nine Islamist militants in an ambush at the weekend, east of the capital, Algiers, said reports on Monday.
The militants belonged to the Al Farouk section of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which was linked to the al-Qaeda network and authorities said it was the only armed Islamist group still active in Algeria.
The operation, which also seized weapons including assault rifles, took place at least 10 days after the ambush of an Algerian army patrol, near Bourmerdee, a GSPC stronghold, which left 10 soldiers dead and 13 wounded.
Earlier this month, interior minister Yazid Zerhouni said that the Islamist militant movement had lost up to 800 members "either taken prisoner, or killed or repentant", since a referendum on a charter for national reconciliation and peace was passed in September 2005, seeking to end the country's violence.
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