| Followup on yesterday's story. Body count took a big jump upwards. |
Liberte newspaper said the air force bombed an insurgent stronghold near the region of Tizi-Ouzou, about 70 miles east of the Algiers. About 20 militants, including several leaders, have been holed up the area since Friday, the report said. Several bunkers used by the militants were destroyed in the bombings. The newspaper did not report any casualities from the bombing raid, though it did say soldiers had killed at least six armed militants around the nearby village of Ait Yahia Moussa since Thursday.
Sweeps in the eastern regions of Bejaia and Kalaa left at least eight militants dead, the report said. Three militants were also killed in a clash overnight Thursday in the Saida region about 435 miles west of the capital, Liberte said. A weeklong sweep of the forested zones of the Ain Defla region, also west of Algiers, has left two militants dead, El Watan newspaper said.
The newspaper reported that soldiers killed four armed militants in a clash Saturday near the village of Ghoumrassa, about 38 miles east of Algiers.