World IN BRIEF : ALGERIA : Noted Sociologist Is Assassinated

A noted sociologist was assassinated shortly after being named to replace a colleague killed in a similar attack in March, authorities said. Mohammed Boukhobza, 52, who held a key post at an official think tank, was the sixth major personality assassinated in three months. The killing came a week after the assassination of Mahfoudh Boucebsi, an internationally known psychiatrist whose views, such as his pro-abortion stance, ran counter to taboos in this North African nation. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But authorities said the killing bore similarities to previous attacks blamed on Islamic extremists.