Sixteen jihadists were killed on Sunday in response to Thursday night's ambush on the Algerian army.
Al Qaeda militants in Algeria killed 14 soldiers in an overnight attack in a forest west of the capital Algiers. The ambush, one of the deadliest attacks in months, took place on Thursday night in a forest area of Ain Delfa at the start of Eid festivities, reported BBC. Al Qaeda's North Africa branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility for the attack.
"The knights of Islam have, on the first night of Eid killed 14 soldiers in an ambush on an army platoon in the area of Djebel Louh," the Islamist terror group said in a statement, according to Capital FM.
The Algerian army killed 16 Al Qaeda jihadists on Sunday in response to the deadly attacks, reported Xinhua. The militants were killed in an army offensive in the province of Ain Defla, about 145 km south east of the capital Algiers.
"During search operations in the Djebel Louh area in the Ain Defla province, a contingent of the National People's Army came under fire by a terrorist group. Immediately after the attack, the area was immediately cordoned off by the army and searched thoroughly, [to] chase these criminals and to destroy their hideouts," the ministry said in a statement, according to Middle East Eye.
The Algerian defense ministry said last week that more than 100 jihadists were killed, captured or surrendered to armed forces in the first half of 2015, reported Capital FM.
