Algiers - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday promoted the first woman in Algeria's military history to the rank of general.

Bouteflika named as general Aardjoun Fatma-Zohra, a division head in the central hospital of the Algerian Army.

Alongside her promotion, 16 men were named general, and another four were named to the higher rank of major general.(dpa)

Algiers - Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian parliament, and chairmain of the Islamic Shura Council, warned the West on Sunday that his country was "not Iraq or Afghanistan."

Larijani, speaking in Algiers at the start of a four-day visit, called on Western powers to respct the "democratic life" of Iran.

"Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan," he said.

Larijani said that both Iran and Algeria's democracies were closely linked to Islamic culture. (dpa)

Algiers/Paris - Suspected Islamist terrorists have killed 24 Algerian gendarmes who were escorting a group of Chinese workers, security sources said Thursday.

The attack took place late Wednesday near the city of Bordj Bou Arreridj, about 130 kilometres south-east of the capital Algiers.

Witnesses told the Arab-language daily Echourouk that the attack began with a series of bomb explosions that were followed by volleys of automatic weapons fire.

Algiers - Two Algerian soldiers were killed and two more were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a group of presumed Islamist terrorists, the Algerian daily El Watan reported Tuesday.

The skirmish occurred early Monday near the town of Trachta, about 115 kilometres west of the capital Algiers, as units of the Algerian army surrounded a group of armed men in a secluded mountainous area.

Algerian security forces have carried out several sweeps in the region, which is believed to serve as a base for several terrorist groups. (dpa)

Algiers - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to an unprecedented third term with 90.24 per cent of the vote, Interior Minister Nouredine Yazid Zerhouni announced Friday. The re-election of the 72-year-old Bouteflika was considered a foregone conclusion after the two main opposition parties decided to boycott the vote, alleging that it had been "rigged in advance."

The five candidates who stood against Bouteflika were marginal political figures little known by the general public.

Algiers - More than 20,000 police officers were deployed on Thursday in and around the Algerian capital Algiers as voters went to the polls to elect a new president.

The city was under a security alert because officials feared that Islamic terrorists would attempt to disrupt the vote.

In addition, some 200 international observers, including 85 sent by the Arab League, were on hand to scrutinize the election, the outcome of which is universally considered a foregone conclusion.

Algiers - In the latest of a series of terrorist attacks, a high-ranking Algerian army officer was killed in a bomb attack in northern Algeria and f further soldier badly wounded, media reports said Saturday.

The attack took place on Friday ahead of an election rally appearance by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the region. The rally went ahead despite the attack.

The bombing came at the end of a week of bloodshed in which dozens of people were killed in attacks and clashes.

Algiers - Two soldiers and seven presumed Islamic terrorists have died in Algeria as the wave of violence continued in the run-up to April 9 general elections, local media reported on Wednesday.

The two soldiers were killed when a homemade bomb exploded under the lorry on which they were riding late Monday in the southern region city of M'ziraa, the daily Liberte reported.

Algiers - A suicide bomber killed at least two people in an attack on a police station in northern Algeria on Saturday, according to state radio.

A man with an explosives belt tried to gain entry to a police barracks in Tadmait, about 17 kilometeres west of the regional capital of Tizi Ouzou, according to details in the online edition of El Watan newspaper.

A police officer shot the bomber, but not before he managed to blow himself up, killing a 50-year-old woman and a policeman.

Algiers - Algerian security forces have killed eight suspected Islamist terrorists in the district of Blida, some 50 km east of the capital Algiers, local newspapers reported on Monday.

The battle between the security forces and a group of armed men suspected of belonging to the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb occurred early Sunday.

The Algerian interior ministry said that some 120 suspected Islamist terrorists have been killed in Algeria since September 1. (dpa)

Algiers  - Algerian Presidnet Abdelaziz Bouteflika has set a date of April 9 for presidential elections, and has invited several international groups to send observers, Algiers said Saturday.

A presidential palace statement said Bouteflika had named former justice minister Mohamed Teguia to head the election commission for the voting.

He also invited the Organisation of Islamic Conference, the Arab League and the African Union to send observers to monitor the elections, the statment said.

Algiers/Paris  - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) must decide on a "drastic" cut of oil production during its next meeting, OPEC president Chakib Khelil, told Algerian radio on Thursday.

The next meeting is scheduled for December 17 in Oran.

"The Oran meeting must decide on a drastic (production) cut to establish an equilibrium between supply and demand," Khelil said during an interview on Radio Algerienne. Khelil is also Algeria's energy minister.

Algiers, Paris - As expected, lawmakers in both houses of the Algerian parliament on Wednesday voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of a constitutional amendment allowing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to serve a third term.

A total of 520 deputies voted yes on the five amendments presented - which would also severely limit the powers of the prime minister - while 21 voted against the measures and 8 abstained.

To be passed, the project had to receive the support of at least three quarters of the lawmakers sitting in both houses of the parliament.

As a result of the vote, the 71-year-old Bouteflika could take up his third five-year term in the spring of 2009, if his health allows him to stand again.

Algiers, Paris - Both houses of the Algerian parliament convened on Wednesday to vote on a constitutional amendment allowing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to serve a third term.

The five amendments up for vote - which would also severely limit the powers of the prime minister - must receive the support of at least three quarters of the 525 lawmakers sitting in both houses of the parliament.

Dubai, Algiers, 11th Nov. 2008 : Global marine terminal operator DP World and the Algerian government signed on Monday agreements that see DP World taking over the operation of the ports of Algiers and Djen-Djen.

Dubai, Algiers, 11th Nov. 2008 : Global marine terminal operator DP World and the Algerian government signed on Monday agreements that see DP World taking over the operation of the ports of Algiers and Djen-Djen.

Algiers/Paris - At least 33 people were killed and 48 injured this week in southern Algeria in flooding caused by heavy rains, local media reported on Saturday.

The flooding affected eight desert cities in the valley of M'Zab, the largest of which is Ghardaia, which is located about 600 kilometres south of the capital Algiers.

The sudden storms caused the M'Zab river to overflow its banks in less than 20 minutes, witnesses said. (dpa)

Algiers/Paris - At least 10 people have been killed in two attacks in recent days as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to a close, Algerian media reported Saturday.

Six members of the security forces were killed in one attack when armed attackers opened fire on their vehicle in Theniet el-Had in the west of the country, el-Khabar newspaper reported.

The attackers were members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the report said.

Algiers - Three Algerian soldiers and a suspected suicide bomber have been killed in a terrorist attack in the Algerian city of Dellys, about 100 kilometres east of the capital Algiers, the website Everything about Algeria reported Monday.

According to security sources, late Sunday, guards at a military base stopped a car loaded with explosives, killing the driver. But the bomb was then probably set off by accomplices using a remote control device.

Six people were also injured in the explosion.

Algiers - Two policemen were shot dead by Islamic terrorists in eastern Algeria in the fifth such deadly attack during the current fasting month of Ramadan, reports said Sunday.

The newspaper Liberte said that the attack took place in Tizi Ouzou east of the capital Algiers on Saturday.

The gunmen stopped a bus and controlled the documents of passengers on board before singling out the two policemen and killing them, the paper said. It was believed the attackers had received a tip about the policemen. (dpa)