ALGIERS, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Algerian troops killed a terrorist on Tuesday, bringing to five the number of terrorists killed in a major anti-terror operation launched since Sunday.
Two children hostages, aged five and seven respectively, were set free in the Tuesday operation conducted in a densely wooded area in the Jijel province, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"Following the effective operations being conducted by our units in Jijel and Batna, a detachment of the National People's Army shot dead on Tuesday in Jijel a dangerous terrorist carrying a Kalashnikov pistol and a quantity of ammunition," the ministry said in a statement.
Jijel is located about 380 kilometers to the east of Algiers.
So far a total of five terrorists have been killed and seven others, including five women, have been arrested in the large-scale operation.
In addition, six Kalashnikov machine guns, two automatic guns and a quantity of ammunition were retrieved, it was disclosed.
Located in a region plagued by unprecedented insecurity and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terror threats.
A number of militants affiliated to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the terror group Islamic State (IS) are still taking refuge in the dense woods in the north, as well as remote desert areas near the borders with Libya and Mali.
