Five dead, 40 injured in new Algerian fighting

Five civilians were killed and another 40 injured when two mortar rounds fell near a mosque in the garrison town of Blida, south of the capital, an Algerian hospital announced late last week.

"Government forces responded with artillery fire at the nearby Chrea Hills from which the terrorist attack has come, and which is a refuge of extremist Islamist groups," Algerian officials said.

Blida, 50 km south of Algiers, is the headquarters of Algeria's first military district.

"Two people died on the spot in the attack," the officials added.