5 French Citizens Slain in Algeria; Militants Blamed

Three French military guards and two French consular workers were shot dead here Wednesday in an attack blamed on a Muslim insurgency that is targeting foreigners.

The shootout occurred when gunmen tried to plant a car bomb in a heavily guarded neighborhood that is home to most of France’s diplomatic personnel.

No one claimed responsibility. Authorities referred to “terrorists,” their usual term for Islamic militants who have been waging a violent campaign to topple Algeria’s military-installed government.

The killings followed a bloody July in which seven Italians and seven East Europeans were slain. Fifty-six foreigners, including 15 French citizens, have been killed since September, when militants began going after foreigners.

Also last month, the ambassadors of Oman and Yemen were held for a week.

Algerian authorities said at least four gunmen dressed as police drove to a French guard post Wednesday near a school in Ain Allah, a heavily guarded neighborhood southwest of Algiers.

Witnesses said two guards were taken by surprise and shot at point-blank range with automatic weapons.

A third guard and the consular employees were killed in another exchange of fire that took place when gunmen tried to park a car with a bomb outside a building, the French Foreign Ministry said. The bomb was safely defused.

More than 4,000 people have died since the government canceled January, 1992, elections that the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front was expected to win.