Algerian soldiers in the northern province of Tizi Ouzou The Algerian army\'s fierce crackdown against armed militant groups operating in the north central Tizi Ouzou province has entered a third day .
Security sources told Arab Today that the operation, ordered following the assassination of a military officer, aims to dismantle training camps set up by Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM).
Forces are scouring the border area between the provinces of Béjaïa and Tizi Ouzou, a region dominated by fighters from Tariq ibn Ziyad battalion, and believed to be the hiding place of AQIM chief Abdelmalek Droukdel.
The operation was announced after gunmen killed a soldier travelling in his private vehicle in the village of Ayet Issa, east Tizi Ouzou.
Witnesses told Arab Today that the 40-year-old victim\'s mutilated body was found on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, soldiers entered the neighbouring Batna governorate after being alerted to the presence of 30 AQIM militants in the Aures mountains.
They arrested the men, whom witnesses claimed were armed at the time, and questioned them about their motives. Locals said they had seen the \"athletic\" individuals training in the hills between the afternoon and evening prayers.
The leader of the battalion, aged about 40, was named as fugitive extremist Tawfeek al-Shayeb.
Security sources said that Shayeb had been preaching the importance of jihad (holy war) and its benefit to Muslims, preparing the 30 young men for terror attacks in the future.