ALGIERS, March 28: Islamic militants slaughtered 27 children and 20 adults on Thursday night in the Djelfa region of Algeria, taking the total number of killings to 72 in the last two days, security forces said late on Friday.About 58 dead were civilians, the officials said. Thirteen Islamists and one member of the security forces, killed in confrontations, made up the rest of the toll.
The killings represent the heaviest bloodshed since the series of massacres that bloodied the fasting month of Ramazan, mainly in January. Military sweeps were mounted to find the ``terrorists'' (armed Islamic extremists) believed to be responsible for the two civilian massacres.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
