5 armed militants surrender to Algerian army

ALGIERS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Five armed militants laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Algerian army on Wednesday, the defense ministry said in a statement.

Three of them, who joined terrorist groups between 2015 and 2016, surrendered in the southernmost province of Tamenrasset near the border with Niger, the statement said.

The seized weapons include three Kalashnikov machine guns and five loaded magazines, it added.

The rest two militants, who became terrorists in 2002, laid down weapons, including two Kalashnikov machine guns, six loaded magazines, a grenade and a pair of binoculars, in the northeastern province of Skikda.

A day earlier, a senior member of a terrorist organization active in the Sahel region also surrendered to the military.

Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria is facing terrorist threats, as tens of thousands of troops are deployed on eastern and southern borders to thwart potential intrusion of militants and arms, amid instability in Mali and a civil war hitting Libya. Enditem