Gunmen ambushed and killed 18 Algerian paramilitary police officers and a civilian, the government said Thursday. The attack was the deadliest by insurgents in nearly a year. Algeria’s government has been fighting Islamist militants, allied with Al Qaeda, who have regularly attacked government forces. The ambush occurred Wednesday, when gunmen used roadside bombs and guns to attack a convoy of the paramilitary police on a highway about 110 miles from the capital, Algiers, the newspaper Echorouk reported.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/africa/19briefs-Algeria.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company