The Algerian military has confirmed in a statement (in French) that nine soldiers were killed and two injured on Friday in an ambush by what it calls a “terrorist group” in the northern Ain Defla region.<br /><br /> Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had already claimed on social media that it had carried out the attack, speaking of 14 killed.<br /><br /> It’s reportedly the Algerian military’s highest losses for over a year.<br /><br /> Algeria has become one of North Africa’s most stable states and is a key ally in the Western campaign against Islamist militancy.<br /><br /> But fighters allied to al Qaeda and rivals linked to ISIL are active in pockets of the country, mostly in remote mountainous areas.
