A civilian security guard was killed and six police officers were injured in two separate attacks by anonymous attackers, officials said Friday, according to AP. The security guard, 32, was stabbed to death Friday when he stopped at a road block set up by militants near the village of Timezrit, in the Boumerdes region about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the capital, Algiers. In a separate incident, a bomb exploded Thursday outside a military barracks in an Algiers suburb, injuring six military officers, officials said. The homemade explosive, hidden in a bottle of mineral water, was detonated using a mobile phone as the officers left the barracks to attend a prayer service marking day 27 of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. About 20 people have been killed since the start of Ramadan last month in attacks by suspected militants and security forces' anti-terror operations. The North African nation has been fighting an Islamic insurgency since 1992, when the army canceled nationwide elections to prevent a likely victory by a Muslim fundamentalist party. An estimated 150,000-200,000 people have died in the violence, which has grown sporadic in recent years.
