Algerian army kills 33 armed Islamists

The Algerian army said it killed during the past weeks some 33 armed Islamists in operations in the nearby mountainous areas to Steif region, 300 Km to the east of the capital Algiers.

The Algerian minister of the interior Nour Eddine Yazid Zarhouni said yesterday that mopping up operations of the mountainous area have been "successful," noting that great number of families of those Islamists -- women and children -- surrendered to the army by the end of the mission.

Zarhouni did not specify in his statement to the Algerian news agency the group to which the Islamists belong, but papers confirmed recently they belong to al-Salafeyah group for al-Qital Waldawa (fighting and call) which is active in this region and in the Algerian east.

The operation which started weeks earlier raised speculations on its results. The papers said that some 20 to 150 members of the armed groups were killed. However, the statement of the Algerian official put an end to these speculations.