Algerian soldiers killed eight armed Islamist militants in an operation south of the capital on Sunday, the defence ministry said. It said the eight "terrorists" were killed in an ambush in a mountainous area of the Medea region, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Algiers. Arms and ammunition were seized, it said.
The ambush was part of an ongoing operation against militants that began on June 9 and had so far led to the killings of 12 "terrorists" and the arrests of four others.
The authorities in the North African country use the term "terrorists" to refer to Islamist militants. A brutal civil war in the 1990s between the government and Islamists claimed about 200,000 lives.
Despite adopting a peace and reconciliation charter in 2005 aimed at turning the page on the conflict, armed groups remain active in some areas.
According to an AFP count compiled from official bulletins, security forces have killed at least 95 armed Islamists this year.