Algeria, April 29: At least five security personnel have been killed and four others wounded by a roadside bomb attack in Algeria’s northern province of Ain Defla.
The attack happened at around 10:30 a.m. local time (0930 GMT) on Thursday when their patrol vehicle set off a roadside bomb near Oued Djemaa town of the province, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) southwest of the capital Algiers, a Media correspondent reported.
The corpses as well as those injured in the blast were transferred to the main hospital in Khemis Miliana town.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) militants are suspected to be behind the attack.
The blast came a day after two gendarmes were killed and another was injured when their car struck a roadside bomb in Bordj Menaniel district of Boumerdes province, situated about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Algiers.
Two weeks ago, 14 Algerian soldiers died after they were ambushed by AQIM militants in the country’s northeastern region of Kabylie.
In recent years, the Sahara region has seen a dramatic increase in the activities of smugglers and militants linked to AQIM, who have claimed responsibility for several attacks on Algerian government forces and foreigners.
——–Agencies