The Algerian military has confirmed in a statement (in French) that nine soldiers were killed and two injured on Friday in an ambush by what it calls a “terrorist group” in the northern Ain Defla region.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had already claimed on social media that it had carried out the attack, speaking of 14 killed.

It’s reportedly the Algerian military’s highest losses for over a year.

Algeria has become one of North Africa’s most stable states and is a key ally in the Western campaign against Islamist militancy.

But fighters allied to al Qaeda and rivals linked to ISIL are active in pockets of the country, mostly in remote mountainous areas.