Suspected Algerian Islamic militants killed 13 customs agents in the north African oil producer's southern desert last night, a customs official said.
The official, who declined to be identified, confirmed media reports on Saturday that said the 13 were killed, and 10 wounded, in an ambush on a party of customs officials travelling in a convoy of all terrain vehicles 200 km (125 miles) from the country's biggest oil producing town of Hassi Messaoud.
One agent was also reported missing after the ambush in the southern province of Ghardaia, some 700 km (438 miles) southeast of the capital Algiers, state radio said.
It was the worst attack by suspected Islamist militants since the launch of an amnesty for rebels aimed at ending more than a decade of conflict in the OPEC oil-exporting country.
Those killed included senior customs officials including the regional director of the national customs service, Abdelkrim Khebouza.
Customs officials play a key role in security in the south, where groups of Islamist gunmen are believed to maintain links with bandits who run crossborder smuggling networks across Africa's Sahel region.
The radio did not identify the attackers. Independent newspaper El Watan said the assaillant were chanting "God is Greatest" during the attack on the agents who were heading for the oil area of Ouargla to attend a seminar. The attackers escaped with the customs agents' weapons.
El Khabardaily said it believed smugglers rather than Islamist gunmen were behind the attack. The two groups of outlaws have been known to coordinate such attacks in the past.