Algiers, Oct 02: Thirteen people have been killed by a group of armed Islamic extremists in Algeria's Ain Defla province, 160 kms west of the capital Algiers, security forces said today.
They said the attack took place last evening in the town of Oeud Chorfa.
In a separate attack in the town of Douar Djebailia, allegedly carried out by the same group, a child was wounded and a woman kidnapped, the security forces said.
A search has been mounted to find the assailants, they said.
Members of the hardline armed Islamic group (GIA) have been regularly accused by the government of carrying out killings in provinces to the west of the capital.

More than 1,100 people have died in attacks blamed on extremist groups in Algeria since the beginning of the year, according to a toll compiled from press reports and official announcements.

Some 150,000 people have died since the violence erupted in 1992, when the army stepped in to cancel an election a Muslim fundamentalist group was poised to win.

Bureau Report