Algiers - Two Algerian security guards were killed and seven injured in an attack by suspected Islamist militants on a gas pipeline, the country's El Watan daily reported Monday.
The attack took place on Sunday night in Djebahia, in northern Algeria, just days after a mass hostage-taking at a gas complex.
A group of militants attacked the guards' vehicles with homemade mortars, the report said, citing unnamed security sources. The guards reportedly managed to hold off the attack after an hour-long gunbattle.
Algeria is still reeling from the bloody four-day standoff at In Amenas gas complex, where a group linked to a North African franchise of al-Qaeda took scores of foreign workers hostage.
Thirty-seven expatriates, one Algerian security guard and 29 gunmen were confirmed killed in that attack. - Sapa-dpa