21 Algerian soldiers killed by Islamic militants

Islamic militants have killed 21 soldiers who were carrying out an anti-terrorism sweep in northwest Algeria.

The soldiers were ambushed in Moulay Larbi in the Saida region, southwest of the capital Algiers. No further details are currently available.

More than 120,000 people have died in Algeria's Islamic insurgency, which broke out in 1992 when the army canceled elections that a fundamentalist party was poised to win.

In an effort to reconcile the North African nation, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika offered militants the chance to turn in their weapons in exchange for amnesty.

Some insurgents kept their guns and hid out in isolated areas, and the army has been hunting them down. The insurgency has continued, despite the efforts.