Nine killed in Algerian violence

Reports from Algeria say nine people have been killed in two attacks south of the capital, Algiers.

Armed Islamic extremists are blamed for the attacks.

The reports say six people were shot dead near the village of Blida on Thursday by gunmen who then fled, while three were killed near Medea on Friday when a home-made bomb exploded.

The killings are the first this month.

In July nearly three-hundred people were killed in attacks by suspected Islamic extremists despite president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's programme of national reconciliation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service