Confusion Over Algeria Massacre

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PARIS: There was confusion today over the number of casualties in Algeria's latest bloody massacre. The country's national radio reported 98 dead, while locals claimed the figure was nearer 300. According to these sources, victims had their throats slit and several were decapitated, with their heads left on the doorsteps of their homes.

This is only the most recent action by the Armed Islamic Group, a radical offshoot of the Islamic Salvation Front — the party that appeared to have won national elections in 1992 when the army stepped in to nullify them. Since then, about 60,000 people have been killed in a campaign intended to press the government into accepting Islamic rule. There's a reason we don't read and see more from Algeria — the fundamentalists are waging a smart war. Top of their hit list: local and foreign journalists.