Algeria: Terrorist Explosion Kills Two Soldiers

An Algerian soldier during an operation against militants in Aid Defla mountains, west of Algiers (Reuters)
An Algerian soldier during an operation against militants in Aid Defla mountains, west of Algiers (Reuters)
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Algeria: Terrorist Explosion Kills Two Soldiers

An Algerian soldier during an operation against militants in Aid Defla mountains, west of Algiers (Reuters)
An Algerian soldier during an operation against militants in Aid Defla mountains, west of Algiers (Reuters)

Two soldiers were killed and another injured in an explosion south of the Algerian capital.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said that an army patrol was on an inspection mission in ​​Tachta in Ain Defla when a bomb exploded, killing two retired soldiers.

The statement confirmed that a third soldier sustained minor injuries.

Tachta has been one of the major terrorist strongholds in the country since its outbreak in the early nineties.

The statement highlighted that the army continues exerting efforts in combating terrorism, with complete determination to target the remnants of the terrorists and eliminate them wherever they are found across the entire national territory.

In another statement, the Ministry of Defense stated that a terrorist named Barbouchi Saidou, often referred to as Abdulaziz, surrendered to the military authorities at Baji Mukhtar tower in the sixth military.

Saidou was in carrying a submachine gun and ammunition.

The statement pointed out that he joined extremist groups in the African coast of Mali in 2014, noting that Barbouchi's cessation of terrorist activity reflects the determination and vigilance of the People's National Army in combating terrorism and all forms of crime, as well as the tireless efforts of the armed forces to establish security and stability across the entire national territory.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.