|
6 Killed in Algerian Massacre VOA News 10 Feb 2002 10:38 UTC 
Algerian officials say unknown gunmen have killed six people and wounded one other during an attack near the capital, Algiers.
Authorities say the killings took place late Saturday in a village in the Bougara area, located about 30 kilometers south of Algiers. Officials say the victims were all members of the same family.
The attack came a day after Algerian security forces said they had killed the head of the country's most radical insurgent group in a nearby town (Boufarik). However, authorities have not linked the two events.
Algerian officials announced that Antar Zouabri and two other members of the Armed Islamic Group, known as the GIA, died Friday in a gunfight with security forces.
The GIA is one of two militant groups blamed for many massacres that took place in Algeria during the past decade, as the government struggled to control violent attacks by Islamic extremists.
The militants rejected an amnesty offered three years ago by the military-backed government of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who said he was trying to bring the country together.
The uprising in Algeria dates back to 1992, when the army canceled a national election that the Islamic Salvation Front was set to win. Since then, nearly 150,000 people have been killed. Most of the victims have been civilians.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
|