Top Islamist 'killed in Algeria'
A top-ranking member of an Algerian terrorist group has been killed in clashes with the army, officials said.
Samir Saioud, also known as Samir Moussaab, was killed in fighting in Si Mustapha, east of the capital Algiers, security sources told APS news agency.
Saioud was believed to be the number-two of an al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
Saioud's body was identified by former members of his group, APS said.
His death has not yet been officially confirmed.
Car bombings
Earlier this month, the group claimed responsibility for a series of car bombings in the capital, Algiers, including one near the prime minister's office.
The blasts killed at least 23 people and injured more than 200.
Violent attacks have been increasing in Algeria since GSPC, the country's main Islamist rebel group, changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb in January.
Despite an amnesty announced two years ago, violence in Algeria has not completely died down since its height in the mid-1990s.
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