Algerian army kills 8 insurgents near Malian border

The Algerian army killed eight insurgents from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on the border with Mali in a military operation. According to Algerian newspaper (Al Khabar) based on security sources' statements, the four-hour operation, in which a hundred special forces soldiers participated using helicopters, left one Malian field commander and seven others dead. They had infiltrated Algerian territories to seize terrain vehicles belonging to a local company at the Amawon border area. The Algerian army confiscated weapons and documents belonging to al-Qaeda, while two bodies were transported to Algiers to determine their identities. Algeria sent in several military units for rapid intervention in forefront positions near the border with Mali to prevent infiltration by al-Qaeda militants or armed groups operating in northern Mali into Algerian territories.