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Subscribe to RSSMilitants who attacked a natural gas facility in eastern Algeria took as many as 40 people hostage, including three Americans as retaliation for France's intervention in neighboring Mali. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports.
ALGIERS, Algeria -- Fifteen hostages were reported Thursday to have escaped from Islamist fighters who claimed to be holding 41 foreign nationals after taking over a gas plant in the Algerian desert.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that three Americans were among the hostages, but the report of the escape by Algerian television did not make clear whether they were among those who managed to flee.
Mauritania's ANI news agency reported that one of the kidnappers had claimed two Algerian army helicopters attacked the gas complex, injuring two of the Japanese hostages. It was not possible to independently verify the report, Reuters said. ANI has close contacts with the al-Qaida-linked group that has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping.
Nearly 24 hours after gunmen stormed the natural gas pumping site and workers' housing before dawn on Wednesday, little was certain beyond a claim by a group calling itself the "Battalion of Blood" that it was holding foreign nationals, including Japanese and Europeans in addition to the Americans, at Tigantourine, near In Amenas, deep in the Sahara.
The raid opened an international front in the civil war in neighboring Mali, just as French troops launched an offensive against Islamist rebels in that country.
Kjetil Alsvik / Statoil via AFP - Getty Images, file
This picture released by Norway's Statoil on shows vehicles parked at the In Amenas gas field in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border. Algerian troops surrounded Islamists holding foreign hostages at the field on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he wanted "to assure the American people that the United States will take all necessary and proper steps that are required to deal with this situation."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed one Briton had been killed and "a number" of others were being held hostage. Algerian media said an Algerian was killed in the assault. Another local report said a Frenchman had died.
"This is a dangerous and rapidly developing situation," Hague told reporters in Sydney on Thursday, adding Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron had spoken with the Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The crisis presents French President Francois Hollande with a daunting dilemma and spreads fallout from Mali's war against loosely allied bands of al-Qaida-inspired rebels far beyond Africa, challenging Washington and Europe.
Led by an Algerian veteran of guerrilla wars in Afghanistan, the group demanded France halt its week-old intervention in Mali, an operation endorsed by Western and African allies who fear that al-Qaida is building a haven in the desert.
Hollande has warned of a long, hard struggle in Mali and now faces a risk of attacks on more French and other Western targets in Africa and beyond.
The Algerian government ruled out negotiating and the United States and other Western governments condemned what they called a terrorist attack on a facility, now shut down, that produces 10 percent of Algeria's gas, much of which is pumped to Europe.
A French businessman with employees at the site said the foreigners were bound and under tight guard, while local staff, numbering 150 or more, were held apart and had more freedom.
The militants, communicating through established contacts with media in neighboring Mauritania, said they had dozens of men at the base, near the town of In Amenas close to the Libyan border, and that they were armed with mortars and anti-aircraft missiles.
The group said its fighters had rigged explosives around the site and any attempt to free the hostages would lead to a "tragic end."
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said the raid was led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s and recently set up his own group in the Sahara after falling out with other local al-Qaida leaders.
Belmokhtar is a holy warrior and smuggler dubbed "The Uncatchable" by French intelligence and "Mister Marlboro" by some locals for his illicit cigarette-running business.
In their own statements, the militants condemned Algeria's secularist government for "betraying" its predecessors in the bloody anti-colonial war against French rule half a century ago by letting French warplanes fly over its territory to Mali. They also accused Algeria of shutting its border to Malian refugees.
Hollande has called for international support against rebels who France says pose a threat to Africa and the West, and admits it faces a long struggle against well-equipped fighters who seized Timbuktu and other oasis towns in northern Mali and have imposed Islamic law, including public amputations and beheading.
Islamists have warned Hollande that he has "opened the gates of hell" for all French citizens.
The conflict, in a landlocked state of 15 million twice the size of France, has displaced an estimated 30,000 people and raised concerns across mostly Muslim West Africa of a radicalization of Islam in the region.
NBC News' Robert Windrem contributed to this report.
Related stories:
French to send 1,000 more troops to Mali; US playing supporting role
ANALYSIS: Why France is taking on Mali extremists
Al-Qaida-linked fighters destroy 'end of the world' gate in Timbuktu
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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said: "I want to assure the American people that the United States will take all necessary and proper steps that are required to deal with this situation."
Just like they did in Benghazi? God help the hostages!
@FedupwithFed you couldn't of said it any better!
Time for a few Harris M89's to come in and pick them off one by one from over a mile away. They won't even know what hit them.
No sound until after impact. POOOOF! And then there was none.
These 3rd world MF'rs have no other way of going about it outside of barbaric. They have no industry or the intelligence to have one. Everything they have is foreign made and they have hardly any way of repairing anything....
I guess they couldn't find a video out there to use as an excuse for this attack. Would have been too hard to cover this one up.
boy Creek Dog, sounds like you're the barbaric one. Your solution would likely kill more hostages than hostage takers. Look son, you have a lot of learning to do. You need to learn about colonialism, and the neo-colonial legacy that we're responsible for.
Scott,
What's your solution? Set up a meeting with them and talk it out?! Really, please do tell...
They're barbaric. They do not reason......
This is what I was trained to do. Fight fire with fire... There is no other way when dealing with terrorist...
You may be right ..... if you assume that whoever was on the business end of a sniper rifle couldn't tell the difference between a hostage and a captor. Is that what you are doing?
"Fifteen hostages were reported Thursday to have escaped from Islamist fighters who claimed to be holding 41 foreign nationals"
Better news. Hope all hostages escape.
Administration can only talk and talk and prepare for war, war and war.
also wanted to throw in here that the 'west' does a bang up job of sanctioning mid-eastern countries and therefore prevents their industrialization....
having said that... i do think these guys are a bunch of ass clowns and if the opportunity presented itself to kill them without putting the hostages in danger.. i'm all for it... although live capture and televised battles vs hungry beasts would also be suitable
OK Scott, here's the latest;
This is why we "Americans" use a different fire power. We at least discriminate who we're aiming at. Even when we do use bombs, we at least have the technology to steer them to their direct targets.
Algeria just flies over and basically carpet bombs the place indiscriminately taking out everybody ensuring they get the bad guys.....
This government will not protect or help any Americans abroad. It's best to just stay close to home and not mess with other countries politics. France goes to Mali and now others have to suffer because of terrorists. Does not matter if you have nothing to do with it. You will be used as a pawn by people full of hatred, bigotry such as terrorists, leaders of countries that will try to impose their will upon everyone they possibly can and other insane humans. The World is NOT a nice place to live in. I hope those people get out safe and sound.
no one is now safe in the middle east, it is the Islam's on the march; our Benghazi screw up, convinced them that America will not respond; we are at war, world wide; yet we refuse to believe what is going on, talk talk and more talk, will not stem the tide of Islam on the march.
i thought our lord saviour and king Obama did away the ALQAEDA HOW CAN THEY BE TAKING HOSTAGES SOMEONE IS LYING ..........OH WAIT THEY SAY TO MAKE OUR LORD NAD SAVIOUR AND KING obama feel better the group is link with ALQAEDA ..........THIS REMINDS ME OF WHATS THE DEFINITION OF "IS" ..........
what you think, and don't understand doesn't matter. This has to do with France trying to secure Nuclear fuel from Mali. The Toureg people are not well represented by the Mali gov't yet their lands are on those uranium mines. So, this is a Western backed intervention into a civil war matter. The US is only tangentially involved. Way to jump out there and expose your ignorance.
Scott,
Opinionated are we?!
I scrolled around and there you are, all over the place, educating everyone on how they don't know what's going on and you do. Hmmmmm. You're one hell of an amazing guy....
You may want to raise that down rigger a couple hundred feet...
If you read the article, this is not al Queda, this guy got kicked out of al Queda.
cyrkles
I believe it's you who is lying. Where in this story that says alqaeda took them. Oh if only you had a brain.
What panetta said about begasz was he didn't want to send troops into harms way so that should show us the out come of this incident. God help America to re gain it sences.
A slew of drones are now air born. Look over your shoulder
we have a huge air base at Tamrassett Algeria. We don't need to rely on drones, we're already there.
I like the drones. Give them one.
Yep. That we do. We have a bunch of Special Ops teams over there, too - waiting for the President's orders....
Which makes this whole thing very dicey.
In an ideal situation, sure. But this is far from that kind of situation. See my sentences above.
i pick drones over people as well... if we crash a drone we can make a new one.... just like cyberdyne systems.....' i'll be back'
Its time to put these thugs out of business once and forever! This kind of terrorist activity has nothing at all to do with the true Jihad in Al-Islam!! These kind of groups can call themselves whatever they want to, but in the final analysis, their barbaric actions identify them like finger-prints!!
who, what are you talking about? The terrorist label has been levied by US. It's not entirely clear who all is involved here. In Mali, the Touregs are disenfranchised yet it's their land that the French are so interested in--the Touregs land sit on the world's 3rd largest uranium mines, oil wealth and the venerable trans Saharan trade routes. I don't know that they are "terrorists" Their men cover, while the women don't. Their Islam is no salafist. However, there is the AQIM there, though they are likely an import. Many believe that the AQ element is actually the most connected to the West. It's believed that Algeria is running some of these terrorists, for their own ends. There's little clarity here, except that France is desperate to secure that uranium for their domestic energy needs.
Yes Rah, they are rats and nothing more. They all have their brand of religious fanaticism, but they are hypocrites who really want to be the chief in charge of their areas, they can't find enough Indians.
That dude was right: they did open the gates of hell...., for themselves. Some Westerners will die but they are going to extinguish them.
I would expect backlash on the European Islamic population, that is the real risk of this whole situation. They probably will be more targeted than ever before, even though they are peaceful.
Wait a minute....how can this be happening? During the campaign our Mt. Rushmore President told us that things in the world had gotten much better...Osama was dead and Al Qaeda had been decimated. So who are all these a..holes creating all these problems in Mali...and Algeria. It can't be Al Qaeda....right? The community organizer said they were history.
it may not be Al Qaeda. In Mali proper, the AQ role is not central, rather the Touregs are the focus. AQIM has allied and split from the Touregs in their fight. However, this raid appears to be AQIM and not the Touregs. Of course, this could be a false flag operation to draw in NATO and to buttress the French action in Mali.
Wait a minute....how can this be happening? Ceo-722851 has posted another rant against our President and he still can't spell his name.
@left - and I give you the big A+ for your spelling!
Scott,
Where are you getting your information from?
As I mentioned above, raise your down rigger a couple hundred feet man....
creek- i usually have mixed feelings about your posts... but in the case of scott i'm finding myself in agreement. i can't figure out where his specifics are coming from.....unless... he's from the future
second terminator reference in 10 minutes... im on fire
Hey Grandpa...what's the matter? The only thing you can come up with is a dimwitted, inane comment about spelling? That's quite the acerbic wit. And he's your President pal...not mine.
i remember when colorado passed the weed bill legalizing weed. obama was asked about that and he said "WE HAVE BIGGER FISH TO FRY".... i call it deflecting.
well this petition will force his hand and he will have to make a decision.
i have started a petition at the whitehouse. gov
the petition is to have the federal government to enforce its own bans on marijuana and illegal immigration.
please go there and sign it.
http://wh.gov/Esqw
lets take away their weed !!!!! and the illegals that bring it into our country !!!!!!
help me get this to obama's desk....copy and paste, repost, add to your facebook, twitter
lol
you must be big pharmacy eh?
maybe you should view the movie THE UNION before you go out and bash mj
its all big buisness
and the biggest problem with the fed law!!!
the feds outlaw it and the idiots---"drug dealers" make all the money
just like guns you cannot make them illegal because again
the illegal gun dealers make all the money and they dont use it to put their kids though school
also 1 note
big pramcuticals kill thousands of peeps every year
shame to hear not one death physically was done by smoking weed
so before you go prancing your high horse around you need to study some facts and get off the pot is bad pramacuticals are good
watch THE UNIOn it shows both sides of the fence
and when one petitions laws one has to view both sides its called covering all corners
also 90% of the weed grown is grown in the usa now because its grown indoors to make it highbread and other countries weed doesnt compare except "Canada"
colorado weed is produced in state. If you don't like illegals, don't hire them to mow your yard. You don't need a big gov't fix. I find it sad that the right wing radio clowns that stir the "illegal alien" pot refuse to ask their listeners to ask those they hire, if their workers are documented. I run a landscape business, and I wrote all the right wing radio guys when this was the big issue. I asked them to ask those they hire if their workers are documented--in over 20 years only two have asked me, both worked for the DofJ. IF there's no market for documented workers, why would you expect the market to meet, what you're too lazy to ask about? It's ok, your sophistic radio talkers all acted as if they didn't understand me. I understood them, they're just rattling your chain, they don't care about you, illegals or anything but themselves. Stop listening to such craven and venal people, they make you look like a bigoted moron.
yea for real guy...back up off the mj situation. try smoking it before you go on a banning rampage. i bet you'll be pleasantly surprised....brooooooo
Just send in the Special Ops guys. That's the best way to handle these terrorists.
Sounds like the Algerians handled it themselves. We're not needed all over the world. In fact, if you think about it; those who think they're indispensable are typically resented by those who we try to help.
Don't much care who these thugs are - AQ or some other idiots. If US citizens are held in the mix, it's time for the US to do something about it. Don't care about French motives for whatever they may be doing there either - perhaps colonialism needs to be back in the mix. We can sure see how running the Brits out of India (which was also our "friend" Pakistan back then) 50 years ago has improved things in that part of the world - not!
we no longer have to worry about al qaeda??? islamists are nice people??? these people are not taking over the world???? someones not telling the truth!!!! darfor and now mali, next USA, these people are not going to stop!!! just as HITLER didn't stop he just kept taking little chunks every day!!!!these people are murders and criminals!!! it has nothing to do with religion, it has to do with sick minds dominating Innocent people using terror tactics, they need to be stopped
I'm a little fuzzy on this good muslim bad muslim thing. Which one are the bad ones? The ones that film decapitations or the tourist grabbers. How do the ones that wear friendly uniforms and shoot our guys fit into all this? Misunderstood and abused? I miss the old days. All Germans and Japanese with or without guns were the enemy because of the potential. Now it's voting thing. I'm sure if they ever set off a dirty bomb in NYC we'll have to endure some liberal dribble about it not being the nice ones that eat lintels, it was the raw goat eaters. I wonder how they decide which infidels to kill? Shoe size?
Are we getting involved again and feeling the repercussions:
U.S. moves to bolster French military campaign in Mali
The U.S. is preparing to ferry more French troops to Mali and provide other help. The fight against Al Qaeda affiliates gained urgency given the rebel advances.
January 14, 2013|By Shashank Bengali, Ken Dilanian and David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/world/la-fg-terror-mali-20130115
This report needs to be updated.
Latest statements are that all the hostages and hostage takers have now been killed in an airstrike.
Like a recent post.....this can get ugly and fast.
And the hostages ? Sounds like something the French would do.
Nice timing. Nice article about Americans being taken hostage by terrorists just as Obama is trying to get us all to give up our guns.
They just took out all the vehicles in the area so nobody leaves.
In the 1970's, an ambassador from the USSR was kidnapped by Muslim extremists. The KGB kidnapped the leaders uncle, lopped off a body part and sent it to the extremists with the promise that theynwould keep sending pieces of the uncle until their ambassador was released unharmed.
Guess what? He was released unharmed.
That is not how the Russians operate. They have a standing order. They don't deal with the hostage takers. They find out who their family is down to their 3rd cousins and start sending them parts, then, the hostage takers release the hostages and go bury whats left of their families. Nothings happens to them. No honorable death.
No longer should any government cast a blind eye on terrorist activities in remote areas of the world. It is time to readdress what our country stands for: Human Rights. This seems to have been lost in all of this fighting and claiming of land and most of all people. The US no longer needs to back tyrannical and nepotistic governments who do not share our goal of Human Rights.
Wow those two dozen islamic extremists really get around , the rest all being peaceful and moderate of course .. right libtards?
Cmon lefties 'splain again about your heroes , the peaceful moderate muslims ..perhaps obama can tell his buddies to tone it down a notch