Islamic Salvation Front member denies report of Bin Hagag death

A source in the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front described a report of the death of the deputy head of the front, Sheikh Ali Bin Hagag, as rumors. Bin Hagag has been detained since 1991.

The source stated that Bin Hagag is in the Blida military jail and that there are efforts to obtain permission for his family to visit him, as all such requests have been turned down since the start of his imprisonment.

A report issued by the Islamic Information Watch in London contained what it described as unreported news about the death of Bin Hagag in prison.

The source expected that the home arrest imposed on Sheikh Abbas Madani would be lifted during the second half of the month of Ramadan. The source said that skirmishes between the Islamic Salvation Army and the Armed Islamic Group -- which is blamed for most of the massacres against Algerian civilians -- occur, but in remote areas and intermittently.