DIGITALGLOBE/AFP/Getty Images

This satellite image provide by DigitalGlobe from Oct. 8, 2012 shows the In Amenas gas field in Algeria, which is jointly operated by BP, Norway's Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrach.

The audacious assault by Islamist militants on a gas plant in Algeria that led to the capture of scores of hostages could spark copycat attacks, a terrorism expert warned Friday.

Terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News contributor who has worked for the FBI, said that other groups would almost certainly be watching closely as the militant fighters led by Mokhtar bel Mokhtar seized the giant facility near In Amenas — and might be inspired.

"(Militant groups) are all vying for attention — for fighters, for financing. They see this, they see the attention it gets," said Kohlmann, who has written about the enigmatic bel Mokhtar in the past.

Bel Mokhtar has been called "The Uncatchable" by French intelligence, along with "Mr. Marlboro" due to his reputed cigarette-smuggling empire, and "a jihadist straight out of central casting" by the British press.

"This group has carried out similar attacks to this in the past. They've certainly taken hostages. They've launched attacks against gas fields and mines,"  Kohlmann said.

'Nightmarish scenario'
But what made the In Amenas raid different was the size of the plant and the number of hostages.

"It's the scale here that we're talking about that's astounding. Taking a group like this all at once… It's really… It's a nightmarish scenario, to be honest," Kohlmann said.

"Within the past year, he's given several different interviews and video recordings in which he's been very clear that one of the primary targets for his group are those who are coming to Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and are 'stealing our resources.'"

Kohlmann said an attack on a French uranium mine in Niger in 2010 has been linked to bel Mokhtar’s group. In that case, workers were also kidnapped and four are still being held to this day.

Thursday, the operators of that and another Niger uranium mine, Areva, said they were tightening security after tons of its contaminated metal used in the extraction of uranium were found in a public junkyard.

Bel Mokhtar is a veteran of the Afghanistan war against the Soviets, a conflict in which he reportedly lost his eye, and he was also once in charge of al-Qaida’s Saharan arm.

Algerian TV via Reuters TV

Hostages freed from a gas facility in Algeria, where Islamist militants were holding them, are seen embracing in pictures broadcast by Algerian TV.

But he now runs his own gang, analysts say, and there are suspicions that he is now more interested in money than jihad.

"He fought in Afghanistan. He fought with al-Qaida in Algeria for years. This guy has been fighting in Algeria since 1991. Yet at the same time he's much more of a desert mafioso than anything else," Kohlmann said.

"He espouses jihadi aims. But he's very well-known for smuggling weapons, cigarettes, narcotics and of course these hostage-taking incidents where he's taken a lot of flak, including from within the jihadi community itself," he added.

"Some of them have said, ‘look, you talk about taking people hostage in order to get our prisoners released from jails, but then all you do is take ransom money and you let these people go.' … So, some of them have distanced themselves from him because of his attention and profit-seeking behavior, really," Kohlmann added.

He said he suspected bel Mokhtar was trying "to ingratiate himself to some of these other new jihadi movements in West Africa." 

"And what greater way than to do something like this where not only does he get a lot of media attention, but potentially he makes millions of dollars on ransom payments? And that's what these guys are really motivated by — money," Kohlman said.

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The helicopter crash in busy rush-hour London Wednesday was not terrorism-related. The chopper in fact struck a tall construction crane in heavy fog that left visibility in some areas near zero.

But some people initially had that fear, particularly as it happened close to the MI6 building, Britain's spy headquarters.

The pilot had requested to land at a different place to his originally intended destination.

But Londoners, still very much on alert since the deadly July 7, 2005 bombings of trains and a bus, were immediately reminded of the scenes following those attacks — as well as the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S.

One commuter had just left a train station nearby, and said she had been looking up at the tops of buildings, marveling at the thickness of the fog that completely obscured them.

At that moment, she said, she heard an explosion that sounded like a bomb, terrifying people in the area and sending them ducking for cover.

Then she described what looked like a "meteor shower," with many pieces of fiery debris raining down onto the streets.

Still upset as she talked to reporters, the woman said her first thought was that the city was under some sort of attack.

"Like a little 9/11," she said.

'Thought it was a bomb'
Another witness said the same. He suspected the loud bang and resulting fire was likely the work of a terrorist, until word started circulating among commuters that a helicopter was involved.

"I thought it was a bomb, I literally thought it was a bomb," he told reporters.

One man said he saw the chopper land on top of a car, that also burst into flames.  Others saw several vehicles on fire.  Firefighters rescued one man from a burning car.

Even after commuter Mark Louis Sidney realized there was a helicopter, crashed on the ground, he still suspected terrorism, wondering "Wait a minute, has this thing been shot out of the sky or what?"

The London bombings in 2005 were traumatic, killing 52 people and the four bombers.  In some ways, the losses still seem fresh. 

People still tell the stories of those who lost their lives by running a few minutes early or late that morning.  Or those who were spared by the same narrow margins.

In the last few years, Londoners have also instinctively adhered to that common New York directive — "If you see something, say something" —  highly aware of their surroundings during the morning commute. To the point that any loud noise or commotion puts them on edge, looking for the nearest and best escape.

Such would be the case, one would expect, in New York or any other city that has deeply experienced an attack.

But this time, the culprit appears to be an old, old foe: London fog.

Related links:
Two die as helicopter hits crane, crashes on London street
See photographs from the scene of the crash 

NAPLES, Italy — The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner says he understands why some people "hate" him, but has no regrets about his actions in the aftermath of the shipwreck that left 32 people dead.

Francesco Schettino did not attend the unveiling of memorials in Giglio, Italy, over the weekend as survivors and victims' families marked the one-year anniversary of the accident. Instead, the luxury cruise liner’s former captain was at his home near Naples, where he lives under some court restrictions.

Accused of multiple manslaughter, causing the wreck and abandoning ship, Schettino told NBC News the toughest part of the aftermath of the crash was that people think he did not try to help the situation after he took the ship off course during a sail-by salute of the coast.

"Everybody believes that I was escaping from the sinking ship," he said. However, Schettino contended he "tried to make an effort to make sure that I was the last one to leave the ship — from the sinking side."

Schettino, who described himself as a strict captain, insisted that other people should share the blame for the accident.

He said Costa Cruises told him before the wreck that he needed to share some authority with his well-qualified, lower-ranking officers who felt he was "breathing too much down their necks." 

Gregorio Borgia / AP file

Francesco Schettino, former captain of the Costa Concordia, says he appreciated having the opportunity to share his side of the story with a survivor of the crash.

"And unfortunately I was relying, in the last three minutes, on an officer, when all of a sudden he was handing me the control of the ship without giving me distance — nothing," Schettino said.

That, he said, was when he noticed foam on the water — a sign of shallow water or something jutting from the surface. 

"I regret that I was trusting (that officer).  I was trusting him before the accident, and also after the accident.  And I have been living with these things inside me.  I will never trust anyone anymore because this was a very deadly mistake," he said.

Schettino claimed he had no way to tell how many people were still on board when he left the vessel.

"People don't understand that the ship is 58 meters (nearly 200 feet) wide, so you don't have a chance to see who else is left on the other side.  And in the moment the floor started to become steeper, you have no other option: To die, or to swim," he said. "So, I regret nothing."

Schettino said he understood why people "hate" him — but added he did not think he deserved this.

"If you lose your child — or any member of your family because of an accident — you start to learn to live with this kind of pain that you have inside you.  But if you are not able to find a reason because you just believe you lost that person because of the stupidity or arrogance of somebody else, it is more difficult not to start to hate people," he said.

"I will do my best to relay the reasons why this tragedy took place, in a way that is very well represented, very well analyzed, simply because I don't like that people may potentially hate me," he said.

Slideshow: Luxury cruise ship runs aground

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The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy killing 32 people - including two Americans.

Launch slideshow

He said he appreciated the chance to share his perspective of the crash with a survivor.

"It was a great pleasure speaking with that person — they fully understand me now. ... It would have given me great pleasure to meet the others," he said, adding that he would wait, let the truth to come out and allow time for people to absorb it.

"I am close to anybody in this, and I join my pain to their pain, even if there is a difference," he said. "I have the pain of a person who is responsible for the cruise ship and I have never denied that. Never."

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