Two sisters, kidnapped by Algerian Islamic militants a week ago, have been found dead with their throats slit in west Algeria, newspapers said on Sunday, as violence intensifies during the holy month of Ramadan. The bodies were discovered on Saturday near the national highway close to Mendes, a town some 350 km (220 miles) west of the capital Algiers, security sources told newspaper El Khabar. One sister was in her mid-teens while the other was in her mid-20s, newspapers said.
| Not friendly enough for their abductors, I guess. Either that, or they were done with them... |
Anti-terrorist units and soldiers have intensified a crackdown in the western province of Relizane to root out rebels. At least 12 rebels have been killed in recent sweeps. Attacks on civilians and the military usually increase in Algeria during the holy Muslim month as rebels believe killing during this period will bring them closer to God.
A member of a local militia in Boumerdes, a province some 40 km east of Algiers was killed by rebels early on Saturday, newspaper El Watan said. Separately, a former militia member was killed in a nearby town on Friday night, also by suspected members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). Sources told El Watan that members of the GSPC -- which has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda -- kidnapped several civilians from a village in Tizi Ouzou province, close to Algiers. About 40 people have so far been killed during Ramadan, according to newspaper reports and official statements. Authorities have tightened security across the country, and particularly in the main cities. |