ALGIERS, Oct 5: In a 48-hour spree of massacres and bombings, assailants killed 105 people, targeting schools, apartment buildings and a wedding, with dozens of children among the victims.

Four days after the Islamic Salvation Army declared a cease-fire, attacks characteristic of the rival armed Islamic group Saturday illustrated that Algeria's bloody insurgency is not yet over.

Many residents of Blida, a garrison town 50 km south of the Capital, fled their homes Friday night after assailants attacked with homemade rockets and bombs, killing 10 people and injuring 20, hospital sources and witnesses said. Security forces there staged a counter-attack with helicopters.

Groups of men armed with guns and sharp-edged weapons killed 75 others -- including 34 children -- in two massacres early Friday morning, and a third group slaughtered 20 members of a wedding party Thursday night, witnesses said.There was no immediate government confirmation of the killings and no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on the Islamic militants .

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.