Senior terrorist chief killed in northern Algeria

Algerian counterterrorism forces have killed a dangerous armed terrorist in northern Algeria, Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The terrorist, nicknamed Okba, was killed in the woods of Tipaza province on Wednesday overnight, 50 km west of Algiers.

The counterterrorism unit stormed his hiding place near the locality of Gouraya, in the west of Tipaza, said the source.

The troops retrieved a Kalashnikov submachine gun, a loaded magazine, a homemade grenade, a pair of binoculars and four mobile phones, noted the source, adding that this operation is still underway.

The killed terrorist is a senior official at the Islamic State (IS) affiliated group Jund al-Khilafa, according to Ennahar TV.

Earlier on Tuesday, counterterrorism troops deployed in the southeast border captured alive a terrorist near the border with Libya.

Earlier this week, an IS chief in Algeria and his assistant were killed in the eastern province of Constantine in an ambush.

Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats, experts said.

A few militants affiliated to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and recently established IS affiliate groups are still taking refuge in the dense woods in the north, and remote desert areas near the troubled Libya and Mali. Endit