Thirty-nine civilians reported killed in new Algeria attacks

Reports from Algiers say thirty-nine people have been killed in new violence in several parts of Algeria.

The reports said twenty-five people -- including two women and six children -- were hacked to death in one incident at a village Safsaffour-hundred kilometres southwest of Algiers.

Fourteen of these were said to have been killed in a mosque during the evening prayer.

Another nine people were reported to have died in an attack at Oued-Sly near Chlef, two-hundred kilometres south-west of Algiers.

During the past week, more than one-hundred-and-fifty civilians have been killed in attacks blamed on Islamic militants.

There are fears that the violence will increase during the approaching Muslim fastingmonth of Ramadan, as it has done in previous years.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service