| Roadside bombs planted by Islamic extremists in northeastern Algeria killed two soldiers and wounded seven who were patrolling the region, the daily Le Matin reported on Monday. The soldiers were carrying out a sweep in an area that had previously been heavily bombarded by artillery fire when the two bombs exploded as their convoy passed over them near Baghlia, near Kabylie's main city of Tizi Ouzou, 110km east of Algiers, on Saturday. Hardline extremist fighters of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has links with al-Qaeda, are thought to operate in Kabylie, the homeland of Algeria's minority Berbers. Since the start of the month, at least 12 people including five members of the security forces have been killed in fighting with rebels in the north African country, according to official sources and press reports. |