Twelve members of the same family were massacred this week by suspected Islamic fundamentalists in a town in western Algeria, residents in the area told AFP Friday.
The attackers used axes to kill the victims, among them women and children, while they were in a hut in the mountainous town of Abou El Hassan, north of Chlef, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Algiers.
Many massacres, often targeting shepherds, have recently been committed in area, which is near the stronghold of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), one of the two main movements at war with the secular government.
The grisly killings brings to more than 120 the number of people who have been killed since the beginning of October, according to a toll compiled from press reports – ALGIERS (AFP)
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