Gunmen ambushed and killed 18 Algerian paramilitary police officers and a civilian, the government said Thursday. The attack was the deadliest by insurgents in nearly a year. Algeria’s government has been fighting Islamist militants, allied with Al Qaeda, who have regularly attacked government forces. The ambush occurred Wednesday, when gunmen used roadside bombs and guns to attack a convoy of the paramilitary police on a highway about 110 miles from the capital, Algiers, the newspaper Echorouk reported.
Local media stated on Thursday that at least 21 Algerian paramilitary police had been killed after an ambush on their convoy.

The convoy was en route to their barracks at Bordj Bou Arreridj, following an escort of Chinese construction workers to a nearby worksite, located southeast of Algeria's capital of , when it was attacked late Wednesday.

Militants detonated no less than two roadside bombs to block the convoy, consisting of six vehicles. They then opened fire on the police before stealing their uniforms, weapons, and vehicles. The militants, as part of Al-Qaeda's network, are referred to as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, (AQIM).

Newspaper reports indicated that 21 people had died, while a local official said 23 were killed and a further five had been hospitalized.

A large security operation has started in the area; however, the attack was not immediately confirmed by Algerian authorities.

The militants have been left over from a civil war begun in 1992 between the government and radical Islamists that has killed between 150,000 and 200,000 people. Violence has since diminished, but attacks on government forces still occur.