Algeria Battles Rebels Along Moroccan Border

Seven people were killed and four wounded as security forces battled insurgents along Algeria’s border with Morocco this week, a national newspaper reported Thursday.

The security forces launched a large-scale operation Tuesday near the border town of Maghnia, where rebels were hiding, La Tribune reported. Officers closed in on a group of about 50 rebels, killing five and capturing one.

In addition, two security agents were killed and four were wounded by a mine that exploded during the operation, the newspaper reported. It was unclear who planted the mine.

Moroccan forces on the other side of the border seemed to be working with the Algerians to root out the rebels, who have spread terror among the region’s residents, the paper said.

Violence in Algeria has continued despite reconciliation efforts by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who offered partial amnesty to insurgents who surrendered by Jan. 13.

More than 100,000 people have been killed since the fighting erupted in 1992 after the army canceled legislative elections that a now-banned Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win.

On Wednesday, Islamic insurgents opened fire on a bus and killed at least 19 people after the driver refused to stop at a rebel roadblock 50 miles south of Algiers.

The rebels then attacked some victims with knives before pushing the bus into a ravine and setting it on fire with passengers still inside, local media reported.

Authorities on Thursday still had not confirmed the attack. Newspapers put the death toll at between 19 and 23 and said more than 20 people were wounded.