Two Algerian soldiers, including an officer, were killed when a bomb exploded during an army operation in the north of the country, the defence ministry said Sunday.

Captain Fateh Bensmail and Sergeant Zakaria Khaldi were killed Saturday night, the ministry said in a statement, after a home-made bomb exploded during a search and sweep operation in the province of Medea, south of the capital Algiers.

The deaths bring the total number of Algerian soldiers killed this year to four.

One soldier was killed on June 20 in a clash with "an armed terrorist group" in the central province of Ain Defla, the ministry announced last Sunday, while another died in a February attack in Timiaouine, on the southern border with Mali.

Algerian authorities use the term "terrorist" to describe armed Islamists who have been active in the country since the early 1990s.

A 1992-2002 civil war pitted Islamist militants against the Algerian government, leaving 200,000 people dead.

Despite a 2005 charter for peace and reconciliation designed to turn the page on the conflict, armed Islamist groups still remain active in some areas of the country, largely targeting security forces.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Cameroon's President Biya under pressure over human rights
Yaounde, Cameroon (AFP) June 27, 2020
Buffeted by security and political crises and embarrassed by military blunders, Cameroon's government has been forced to give ground on human rights under intense pressure from campaigners and the UN and from allies who once chose to overlook its flaws. NGOs have long denounced abuses in the central African country, from the detention of journalists and arrests of opponents to the killings of civilians by soldiers. But after a massacre by security forces and the death of a detained journalist, t ... read more