ALGIERS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Algerian army forces on Monday destroyed war weapons, including anti-tank missiles, in an anti-terrorism operation conducted near the border with Mali.
Army troops deployed in the southernmost locality of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, near the Malian border, discovered a load of war weapons, said a statement issued by the Algerian Defense Ministry.
The weapons included four anti-tank missiles, a 12.7-mm heavy machine gun, four Simonov semi-automatic rifles, two grenades, and some 2,984 bullets of various calibers.
The operation emphasized "the high vigilance and the devotion of army troops deployed on the border areas to maintain safety of national territory and to thwart any attempt to smuggle weapons or undermine the security and stability of the country," said the statement.
Algeria has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the southern and eastern borderline, in a bid to thwart the intrusion of terrorists and arms, amid instability in Mali and civil war hitting Libya.
Meanwhile, the North African nation has also opened safe routes along its southern border, to encourage Algerian militants who joined terrorist groups in the African Sahel, to lay down arms, in exchange for fair trials.
