ALGIERS- Sid Ali Rachid, also known as Ali Dix, who is suspected to have been the mastermind behind the suicide attack that was perpetrated against the office of the Algerian prime minister on April 11, 2007, has been killed by security forces, the local press reported Thursday.

Rachid was killed together with one of his closest associates last Monday in an ambush laid by a crack unit of the Algerian army, according to the Algerian daily "El Watan."
His associate was killed on the spot while Rachid is reported to have succumbed to his injuries after the shoot out, according to the daily.

Born in Lakhdaria, about 120 km southeast of Algiers, the 34- year-old Rachid was a very influential figure within the " Organization of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb," formerly the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching, which is the main terrorist grouping operating in Algeria.

Rachid, who is thought to have masterminded the two near simultaneous attacks that killed about 30 people and injured further 220 in Algiers on April 11, 2007, is also suspected to have been behind the recent suicide attack that left at least eight soldiers dead at a military base in Lakhdaria.