Algerian troops kill five Al Qaida fighters

Algiers: Algerian troops have killed five Al Qaida fighters, including the organisation's chief in Mali, during a hunt for men who shot at army helicopters in Algeria's desert south, El Khabar reported on Sunday.

The five were killed on Friday in the Rhourd Ennous area 700 km south of Algiers, said a military official.

"It is probable that they are from Chad, Mali, Niger and Mauritania," one of the sources was quoted as saying.

The El Khabar newspaper said the men had links to an Al Qaida group operated by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Algerian war veteran who is believed to be hiding in the border areas between Algeria, Mali and Niger.