ALGIERS, 10 April 2007 — Alleged Islamic militants leapt out of woods and opened fire on a military patrol in northwestern Algeria, triggering a gunbattle that left nine soldiers and six attackers dead, security forces said Sunday.
The army called in helicopters and armored vehicles for the clash with a group of about 30 to 40 militants, who opened fire Saturday on the patrol conducting an anti-insurgency sweep near the town of Ben Allal some 250 kilometers west of the capital, Algiers, witnesses and local security officials said.
The gunfire in the Zaccar forest could be heard into Sunday morning, witnesses said by telephone. Some political observers have said Islamic militants could be looking to step up violence against government forces in an effort to disrupt Algeria’s legislative elections on May 17.
It was the largest reported single casualty toll among government forces since Islamist guerrillas killed at least seven troops in November 2006 in the Bouira region east of the capital Algiers.
Government troops, backed by helicopters, were searching for the attackers, estimated at 50 militants, Liberte said.
