Paris  - Nine employees of a security company were killed in an attack by presumed Islamist militants in eastern Algeria, the daily El Watan reported on Monday.

Two other people were injured during the attack on the dormitory housing the security agents who had been hired by the Sonelgaz gas company in Tuzrarane, some 350 kilometers east of the capital Algiers.

The attackers first launched grenades at the building before storming it. The victims worked for the security company Spas, which has been targeted by attacks on several previous occasions. dpa