ALGIERS, Algeria –  Algerian news reports say government forces have killed nine suspected terrorists including the leader of a group accused of multiple attacks.

State news agency APS says army forces battled the suspected terrorists from Wednesday into Thursday in a forested mountain region east of the capital Algiers.

Among the nine dead was Zemouri Abdelamalek, also known as Abou Bakr, the leader of the Al-Arkam group who had been hunted since 2010.

Weapons and other material were captured during the mission, the army said in statement cited by APS Friday.