Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants opened fire on a military checkpoint in eastern Algeria, killing four soldiers and a municipal guard, newspapers reported today.
The attack took place yesterday in the province of Batna, some 430 kilometres (269 miles) east of the capital Algiers, newspapers reported.
Around 20 members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) took part in the attack and 10 of them were killed when security forces struck back, it was reported.
The attack came a week after a website used by Islamic militants said the GSPC had changed its name to al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb after receiving approval from Osama bin Laden.
The group claimed responsibility for several attacks in Algeria last year, including the bombing of bus carrying foreign oil workers in December. Two people were killed in the attack, the first on expatriates in Algeria for years.