Five suspected Islamic extremists were killed and a quantity of arms seized during an Algerian army security operation in the Relizane district some 300 kilometers west of Algiers, newspapers reported on Sunday.
The newspapers, cited by AFP, said the operation followed the murder of seven people on September 28 in an area where members of the hard-line Armed Islamic Group (GIA) have been regularly accused by the government of carrying out killings in provinces to the west of the capital.
Officials have warned that extremist groups in the country appear to be stepping up their attacks in the run-up to elections on October 10. (Albawaba.com)
