A MOTHER and her three children were shot and killed by Islamic extremists at the weekend as they slept in their isolated country home in western Algeria, locals said on Sunday. Earlier, local media reported that five members of another family were killed and three others injured in an attack by armed militants in the same region on Friday night. The victims were watching television when a group of suspected Islamic extremists burst through their doors and shot them at point blank range before turning on other family members in the bedrooms. The latest deaths bring to at least 21 the number of people killed in attacks blamed on Islamic militants since the beginning of August, according to an unofficial toll compiled from press reports. – AFP