Paris - Suspected Muslim rebels have killed 22 people in a village near the city of Oran in the latest in a series of Algerian massacres in which 1,400 people have died in the last five months.
The Algerian security forces, in a statement read on state-run radio, said the killing took place in Ras el Ain village on Monday night.
It said the 22 people were killed in a cowardly way - the term used by the authorities for people having their throats cut.
The statement blamed the killings on a "terrorist group".
READ MORE
The massacre coincided with the visit by President Liamine Zeroual of Algeria to Cairo, for a threeday meeting of 15 leaders from Africa, Latin America and Asia.