From AP, with thanks to Susan:
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) – Suspected Islamic militants killed 16 people in a pre-dawn attack south of the Algerian capital on Saturday [October 23], an official statement said. It was the first bloodshed since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The victims, mostly youths, were driving to Algiers for a soccer match when ambushed on the road near the city of Medea, 50 kilometres south of the capital. They were buried Saturday….
Algeria’s Islamic rebels have in the past intensified their campaign of violence during Ramadan, killing about 1,200 people during the month of fasting in 1997 at the height of the insurgency.
But in recent years the bloodshed has decreased. An average of 50 soldiers and civilians were killed over the Muslim holy month in 2003 and 2002.
The North African country has been fighting the insurgency since 1992, when the army cancelled national elections to prevent victory by a Muslim fundamentalist party. The violence has killed an estimated 120,000 people.