July 15, 2002	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 4, 1423

ALGIERS, July 14: Nine people were killed by suspected Islamist gunmen in two separate incidents in Algeria overnight, according to reports by local residents on Sunday.

Two women and four children were killed, and two people wounded, in the Oued el Kerna neighbourhood near the town of Miliana, some 220 kilometers west of the capital, Algiers, when their home was raided around 11:00 pm.

Sources said the unidentified gunmen fled after being confronted by a local guard.

In a separate incident, also on Saturday night, three young people were shot and killed by armed men in Bouharoun, a fishing port some 40 kilometres west of Algiers.

They were reportedly playing a game of dominos on a small boat at the beach when they were attacked. No further details on either incident were immediately available.

According to a tally of official accounts and press reports, since the beginning of the month, such killings have claimed the lives of more than 90 people.—AFP