Algeria: ANP forces eliminate 10 armed terrorists near Tamanrasset

Algerian armed forces killed ten armed terrorists near the Malian border on Monday, the national defense ministry said in a press release of which Echorouk got a copy.

The “terrorist group of ten criminals” died after clashes with the ANP army in the Taoundert border area, 80km west of Tin Zaoutine in southern Tamanrasset province, local media outlets quoted a defense ministry statement as saying.

It said eight automatic Kalashnikov-type rifles, RPG-7 rocket launcher technical equipment and a “large amount” of ammunition were seized.

The ANP clampdown came after “effective use of information on suspicious movements of a terrorist group in the area,” said the statement.

ANP forces have eliminated 37 other terrorists in operations since January, according to the ministry, including several in the eastern mountains. Security sources say some have been rounded up with weapons traced to Libya, where terrorist groups have been activating amid widespread turmoil still besetting this neighboring country.

“The number of terrorists killed in an operation since Monday near Tin-Zaouatine … has risen to ten,” the Defense Ministry bulletin indicated.

It added that several rifles, rocket and grenade launchers were also recovered during the successful counter-terrorism operation.