TWELVE people died in Algeria, including seven Muslim rebels, in the latest wave of clashes with security forces, local newspapers reported. A group of unidentified men shot dead five civilians and burnt their bodies in the town of Bou Ismail, 60km west of Algiers, while army soldiers killed seven Muslim rebels and captured two others after a 12-day military combing operation in the mountains of Etarf, 650km east of Algiers. Algeria has been rocked by violence since 1992, when the army-backed authorities cancelled a general election Muslim fundamentalists were poised to win. – Reuters
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