ALGIERS, Feb 10: Suspected Islamic rebels have killed six civilians and wounded one another near Algiers, the official Algerian news agency APS said on Sunday.

The killing took place in the Bougara area, 30 km south of Algiers, just hours after the announcement on Saturday that the country’s most wanted guerrilla chief Antar Zouabri had been shot dead by government security forces in a gun battle.

APS, quoting security officials, said the seven victims of the rebel attack were members of the same family. The attack at Bougara was about 15 km southeast of Boufarik, where Zouabri, the head of the radical Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and two of his men were killed on Friday.—Reuters