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ALGIERS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Algerian army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah died of a heart attack on Monday, a statement of the presidency was quoted as saying by the APS news agency.
Newly-elected president Abdelmadjid Tebboune appointed current Ground Forces Commander Said Chengriha as the interim army chief of staff, the report said.
President Tebboune further announced a three-day national mourning in the memory of late Gaid Salah, with national flags flying at half mast, while 7 days of mourning was announced in military institutions, the source added.
Gaid Salah was hit by a heart attack in his house early in the morning and was rushed to a military hospital in Algiers where he succumbed at the age of 80.
