Algerian Mayor Shot Dead, Throat Slit by 'Terrorists'

The mayor of a town in Algeria was shot dead and had his throat slit by unidentified "terrorists" on Friday, police were quoted by the APS news agency as saying.

The body of Benyoucef Chelghoum, 56, was found at his farm in Fercha, just outside Bordj El Emir Abdelkader, of which he was mayor. The town is 213 kilometers (132 miles) southwest of the capital.

The report gave no further details about the murder, including any explanation as to why "terrorists" were blamed.

Violence blamed on Islamists has declined considerably in recent years, but militants who battled the army during a civil war in the 1990s and later formed Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) still operate in the country.