Algiers: Algerian security forces have killed two radical Islamist insurgents in the same locality east of the capital where seven were killed a day earlier.
The official APS news agency quoted an unidentified security source as saying Army troops on a search operation killed the two guerrillas on Wednesday in Boulzazene in the Boumerdes region, 70 kilometres east of Algiers.
Algeria has been fighting a years-long battle with Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which uses the Kabyle region, near Boumerdes, as its headquarters.
The Defence Ministry said in a rare statement on Tuesday that seven insurgents had been killed and arms, ammunition and medicine recovered.
In recent years, AQIM is noted more for its reach into the Sahel region with kidnappings and its takeover of parts of northern Mali.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 03, 2013, 08:27