(Adds details, background, analyst and diplomat comments)

By Paul de Bendern

ALGIERS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A well-known Saudi poet was killed in the Algerian desert when suspected Islamic rebels ambushed his hunting party on Thursday evening, leading newspapers said on Saturday.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by members of the hardline Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which claimed responsibility for kidnapping more than 30 European tourists sightseeing in the Sahara desert earlier this year.

The group, known by its French acronym GSPC, is fighting to set up a purist Islamic state and recently pledged allegiance to the al Qaeda network, which the United States blames for the attacks on September 11, 2001, as well as many bomb attacks.

The Interior Ministry was not available for comment.

"This was a synchronised attack carried out by terrorists," said an Algiers-based security analyst. "What remains to be seen is if this is an isolated event or the start of something new."

Between six and nine people were injured in the attack in the region of Djelfa, 250 km (155 miles) south of the capital Algiers, well informed sources told newspapers.

It was not immediately clear if the injured were guides, Saudis or security forces accompanying the group hunting game.

Newspapers Liberte, L'Expression and El Khabar named the victim as Talal Ibn Abdelaziz al-Rashid, a businessman and poet who set up a literary magazine, Al Fawasil, 10 years ago.

Algeria is enjoying a gradual return to stability after a decade of bloodshed was sparked by the cancellation of elections that a now-banned Islamic fundamentalist party was set to win.

Human rights organisations estimate that more than 150,000 people died, mostly at the hands of Islamic rebels.

The GSPC rejected a 1999 amnesty on laying down arms and is one of two principal guerrilla groups still operating.

Rebels are believed to number a few hundred compared with around 25,000 in the early 1990s, according to security experts and diplomats based in Algiers.

But some Western governments are increasingly worried about the GSPC, particularly their second-in-command Amari Saifi, also known as "Abderrezak the Para", who took responsibility for the kidnappings earlier this year.

"There's a growing concern that the Para is in contact or trying to contact al Qaeda and could be planning new attacks," a Western diplomat said. "He's very dangerous. He's an opportunist and he has money."

(Additional reporting by Miral Fahmy in Dubai)