ALGIERS: Militants attacked soldiers hunting down Islamist fighters in eastern Algeria at the weekend, killing five of the troops and wounding 10 more, newspaper reports said Monday.
A remote-controlled bomb exploded as troops passed the Zekri forest in the Kabylie region late Saturday and then militants opened fire with automatic weapons, according to the Al Watan daily, which cited security forces.
Islamists have established their headquarters in the area.
The soldiers had been looking for members of the former Salafist Group for the Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a group which formed an alliance with Al-Qaeda.
The Liberty daily has cited security sources saying that the army had sent significant reinforcements to the region.
The Algerian army launched on September 23 a massive sweep against the Islamists, with the group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) increasingly active in North Africa. The group grew out of the GSPC.
The day after the operation was launched; a senior officer taking part was wounded in a bomb attack.
Authorities have not released a toll for any casualties among the Islamists.
