Armed Islamic rebels broke into a house in northern Algeria and shot dead four members of the same family as they slept, press reports said Thursday.
The attack happened overnight Tuesday near Ain Defla, 160 kilometers (95 miles) west of Algiers, Liberte daily said.
The father, mother and two teenage daughters were killed, but the 19-year-old son was able to escape, the report said.
The rebels also took a 23-year-old woman hostage.
At least 100,000 people have died in fighting and terrorist attacks since 1991, when the army stepped in to avert an expected electoral victory by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which had intended to set up an Islamic state.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's ambitious attempts to achieve national reconciliation -- he offered a six-month partial or total amnesty until January to Islamic fighters -- have failed to halt the killings – ALGIERS (AFP)
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