Algeria Attack: Soldiers Die In Islamist Ambush

Al-Qaeda’s North African branch claimed an ambush of an Algerian army patrol that killed at least nine soldiers, in one of the deadliest such attacks in years.

The attack reportedly took place in the Souk Al-Ataf district of Ain Defla province (to the west of the capital), which al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for.

Although the deadly assault, reported Saturday by the local El Khaber newspaper, has not yet been confirmed by the Algerian defense ministry, it was widely circulated on news websites.

The ministry’s statement said the army conducted search operations after the attack, which also wounded two soldiers.

Few details are available, including which group perpetrated the attack, but armed militant groups have been active in Ain Delfa dating back to the 1990s during Algeria’s civil war, according to the BBC.

In its statement, AQIM said: “The knights of Islam have, on the first night of Eid killed 14 soldiers in an ambush on an army platoon in the area of Djebel Louh”, adding that the attackers managed to escape unharmed after seizing the dead troops’ weapons. The militants said France had failed to respond to a demand to drop out of the U.S.-led coalition against IS forces in Iraq and Syria.