A suicide car bomb attack killed one Algerian military barracks on Sunday (February 9th) in the border area of ​​Timiaouine, near Mali, the Algerian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"A detachment of the National People's Army (ANP) was the target, today at 10:50 am, at Bordj Badji Mokhtar in 6th military region, of a suicide bomber aboard an all-terrain vehicle bomb", according to the communicated.

"As soon as identified, the soldier in charge of access control managed to defeat the attempted entry of the suspect vehicle, however the suicide bomber detonated his vehicle, causing the death of the soldier on guard," said the text.

The assailant's identity was not disclosed.

In 2017, an attack by the Islamic State group

This attack, not claimed at this stage, is the first in the south of the country for many years.

Sunday's attack comes at a time when Algeria is trying to get involved in resolving regional crises in Libya and the Sahel.

Algiers, worried about the risks of instability in the south of the country, had served as mediator in 2014-2015 between the government of Bamako and armed rebel groups in northern Mali.

The last suicide bombing attack on Algerian forces dates back to August 31, 2017.

Two Algerian police officers were killed when a member of the Islamic State (IS) group detonated his explosives while trying to enter a police building in Tiaret, 350 km southwest of Algiers.

With AFP

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