Algerian army kills 5 militants near borders with Mali

Algerian army has killed five militants belonging to the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, while the armed group was trying to sneak into the country through the Malian border, the El Khabar newspaper said Thursday. On Wednesday, a unit of the Algerian National Army spotted and attacked an armed group on the Algerian-Malian borders, a well- placed security source was quoted as saying. The source added that a load of Kalashnikovs and ammunition were seized during the operation. A militant group claimed the north of Mali as an independent state in April 2012, the Algerian army then deployed troops along the borders with Mali to counter any infiltration by militants from the troubled northern region of Mali.