Algiers - Muslim rebels disguised as government soldiers killed up to 16 civilians and seriously wounded 12 others at a fake roadblock in northern Algeria, newspapers reported yesterday.
The rebels, wearing military fatigues, stopped two vans near Khemis Meliana, some 150 km south-west of Algiers, in Monday's attack and opened fire on the passengers, the reports said. They were believed to belong to the extreme Armed Islamic Group (GIA) faction.
The massacre lasted about two hours and took place a few hundreds metres away from an army post, Le Matin newspaper said.