ALGIERS, Algeria — A security official says gunmen attacked a gas pipeline in northern Algeria and killed two guards but were driven off.

The gunmen fired homemade mortars late Sunday at the Ain Chikh pipeline near Djebahia, 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Algiers.

Army units are searching for the attackers, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The site, which was last attacked in May 2011, is on the southern edge of the Kabylie region. That's the last hideout for al-Qaida in Algeria, which has largely been defeated in the north.

Al-Qaida-linked militants took dozens of foreigners hostage at a southern gas plant two weeks ago, a confrontation that left at least 37 hostages and 29 militants dead.