[An Nahar] Algerian troops killed eight Islamists gunnies in the Kabylie region, where al-Qaeda-linked groups remain active, the official APS agency reported Wednesday, updating an earlier toll of six.Soldiers opened fire on a van carrying suspects near blood-stained Tizi Ouzou, the main city in Kabylie, APS said, quoting a security bigshot. The van veered off the road and crashed into a ravine.
The security forces recovered five assault rifles and two shotguns after the operation that left five gunnies dead late Tuesday, the source added.
Algerian forces killed three further suspects on Wednesday and captured one more.
Troops continued to comb the area for remaining members of the cell, believed to be responsible for a June 15 attack on a cop shoppe in a nearby town that left two officers dead.
Soldiers killed six gunnies with suspected ties to al-Qaeda in the same region on June 5.
Following the brutal decade-long war that left up to 200,000 people dead, President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third term, which is probably why Algerians are ready to dump him...
started a process of national reconciliation and offered amnesty to all Islamists.
Former members of the Armed Islamic Group and its offshoots who have since proclaimed their allegiance to al-Qaeda have largely been flushed out, but incidents remain frequent in Kabylie, east of Algiers.
Algeria's police chief, General Abdelghani Hamel, said last month that "the terrorist threat remains in all regions of Algeria".