Algiers, 13 July (AKI) - Islamic militants killed five guards in an assault on a campsite in the Algerian coastal townof Larhat, near Tipasa, some 130 km west of the capital Algiers, reports said on Thursday. The London Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat said the militants robbed the tourists at the site. Newspapers El Watan and El Khabar said the five victims were ensuring security for around 50 families at the campsite when the assailants surprised them shortly before midnight on Monday. "Honey, where do we want to take the family on vaction this year?"
"How about Algeria? I hear they have a lot of interesting local customs." |
The rebels set fire to three vehicles and stole the campers' mobile phones and other personal belongings before fleeing.
Reports did not identify the militants but experts usually blame such attacks on the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and has rejected an amnesty offered by president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The government says around 2,200 jailed rebels have been freed under the amnesty, which will expire at the end of next month.
Under the measure, militants were offered a pardon starting February provided they were not involved in massacres, rapes and bombings of public places . |