The Algerian army has killed three militants during an operation in the eastern Kabylie region, the country’s Defense Ministry has said.

On Sunday, the ministry said army troops also destroyed militant hideouts in the Sidi Ali Bounab region, seizing their weapons and ammunition, AFP reported.

The deaths bring to five the number of militants killed in Kabylie since Tuesday. The region is a bastion of armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Although militant operations have declined considerably in recent years, they continue to attack strategic targets in the eastern Kabylie region around the capital Algiers, and in the south.