Algeria terror chief killed by followers

ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Algerian ministry of interior said Monday the leader of the Armed Islamic Group, known as GIA, was killed by his followers last July.

A ministry statement said Rashid Okeily, code-named Abu Turab, was slain by members of his armed Islamist group but it did not provide information about the circumstances of his death.

Okeily led GIA, Algeria's first armed group dedicated to ousting the regime, after the slaying of the group's former leader, Antar Zawabiri, by army troops in February 2002.

The statement said government forces captured Okeily's successor, Noureddine Boudiafi, late last year.