Algerian military sources said the new Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb has been producing a range of explosives near Algiers. The sources said the explosives were employed in suicide bombings in 2007 in the capital and other areas of the North African state, Middle East Newsline reported.

On Aug. 10, the Algerian Army said an Al Qaida bomb factory was discovered in Zamouri in the Boumerdas province. The army said the bomb factory was located 54 kilometers from Algiers and operated by Islamic insurgents based in the mountains near Algiers.

"The discovery is very important for a terrorist group that consists of some 40 members," the army said.

The Algerian Army, backed by paramilitary forces, has been combing the mountains east of Algiers for Al Qaida insurgents. Over the last month, dozens of Al Qaida agents were said to have been killed or captured.