Six killed in a bomb explosion in Algeria

The Algerian security forces said on Thursday that six persons were killed and another 61 were wounded in a bomb explosion on Thursday in the souk of Hasi Bahbah town in Jelfah district, 270 km south of the capital, Algiers.

Algerian security stated that this bomb went off at 9 a.m. in the weekly shopping market of the city.

It added that Minister of the Interior Abdul Malik Sallal and Health Minister Yahya Qeidoum headed for the site of the explosion, adding that most of the wounded left the hospital after receiving necessary medical treatment.

Last Friday seven members of a civil defense group were killed and three wounded in a bomb attack against the same area.

Meanwhile, the Algerian daily al-Watan said the Algerian army killed 11 armed Islamists in confrontation with members of the Armed Islamic Group.

The paper added that the Algerian forces besieged a shelter containing some 30 Islamists nearly 450 km east of the capital, Algiers, in a mountainous area close to Batinah.

The Armed Islamic Group refused the "national amity and reconciliation" and threatened to continue their attacks.