ALGIERS, Algeria — Algerian authorities say a remote-controlled homemade bomb exploded and killed seven security officers in the northwest of the North African country.

The Defense Ministry says in a statement Sunday the victims were aboard a military truck en route to their base when they hit a bomb in the town of Ain Kercha, 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of the capital, Algiers.

The ministry says three soldiers and four local guards were killed in the attack Saturday night. The statement didn't say who detonated the bomb or why, but reiterated the army's "determination to pursue and eliminate these small terrorist groups."

Algeria, home to Al-Qaida's North African branch, has largely stabilized since an insurgency in the 1990s, but still sees sporadic violence between Islamic extremists and security forces.