Algerian troops kill two Islamist militants: ministry

Soldiers patrol on June 11, 2013 in the Mount Chaambi region where the Tunisian army has been tracking militants with links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. By Abderrazek Khlifi (AFP/File)

Algiers (AFP) - Algerian soldiers killed two armed Islamists on Saturday in the Jijel region east of the capital, the defence ministry website announced.

The two were killed during an army sweep on Mount Seddat in the Sidi Abdelaziz area some 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Algiers, the website said.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered.

A total of 69 Islamists have been killed since the beginning of the year, including 12 in May on the border with Mali, the military said.

Violence blamed on Islamists has declined considerably in recent years, but militants who battled the army during the civil war in the 1990s and later formed Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) still operate in the Kabylie area.