Al-Qaida operatives on trial in Algeria

ALGIERS, Algeria, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Algeria has launched its largest effort to date against al-Qaida with the trials of more than 100 suspected members of the organization.

Officials of the Algerian Justice Ministry said the trials are linked to a wave of attacks that occurred during the last two years, Med Basin News Line reported Monday.

One of the suspects on trial in the province of Boumerdes is a woman named Rabia Bint Khaled Abdul Hamid, believed to be a major operative in the organization.

The news service said many of the defendants will be tried in absentia, including the commander of al-Qaida's Algerian operation, Abdul Malik Droukdel.