Islamists attack Algerian gas field, holding 41 hostage
Source: Agencies |
January 17, 2013, Thursday
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Islamist militants attacked a gas field in Algeria yesterday, claiming to have kidnapped up to 41 foreigners including seven Americans in a dawn raid in retaliation for France's intervention in Mali.
The raiders were also reported to have killed three people, including a Briton and a French national.
An al-Qaida affiliated group said the raid had been carried out because of Algeria's decision to allow France to use its air space for attacks against Islamists in Mali, where French forces have been in action against al-Qaida-linked militants since last week.
AQIM said it had carried out the raid on the Ain Amenas gas facility in Algeria, Mauritania's ANI news agency reported.
In a statement BP said the site was "attacked and occupied by a group of unidentified armed people," and some of its personnel are believed to be "held by the occupiers."
The number and identities of the hostages was still unclear, but Ireland announced that a 36-year-old married Irish man was among them, while Japan and Britain said their citizens were involved as well. A Norwegian woman said her husband called her saying he had been taken hostage.
In addition to the three foreigners killed, six others were wounded in the attack, including two foreigners, two police officers and two security agents, Algeria's state news agency reported.
Algerian forces have surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, an Algerian security official based in the region said, adding that the militants had come from Mali.
Yesterday's attack began with the ambush of a bus carrying employees from the gas plant to the nearby airport but the attackers were driven off, according to the Algerian government, which said three vehicles of heavily armed men were involved.
"After their failed attempt, the terrorist group headed to the complex's living quarters and took a number of workers with foreign nationalities hostage," said the statement, adding that authorities were following the situation very closely.
BP, together with Norwegian company Statoil and the Algerian state oil company, Sonatrach, operate the gas field. A Japanese company, JGC Corp, provides services for the facility as well.
Meanwhile, French troops launched their first ground assault against Islamist rebels in Mali yesterday in a broadening of their operation against battle-hardened al-Qaida-linked fighters who have resisted six days of air strikes.
France has called for international support against Islamist insurgents it says pose a threat to Africa and the West, acknowledging it faces a long fight against the well-equipped militant fighters who seized Mali's vast desert north last year.
French army chief Edouard Guillaud said his ground forces were stepping up their operation to engage directly "within hours" with the alliance of Islamist fighters, grouping al-Qaida's North African wing AQIM with Mali's home grown Ansar Dine and MUJWA militant movements.
The raiders were also reported to have killed three people, including a Briton and a French national.
An al-Qaida affiliated group said the raid had been carried out because of Algeria's decision to allow France to use its air space for attacks against Islamists in Mali, where French forces have been in action against al-Qaida-linked militants since last week.
AQIM said it had carried out the raid on the Ain Amenas gas facility in Algeria, Mauritania's ANI news agency reported.
In a statement BP said the site was "attacked and occupied by a group of unidentified armed people," and some of its personnel are believed to be "held by the occupiers."
The number and identities of the hostages was still unclear, but Ireland announced that a 36-year-old married Irish man was among them, while Japan and Britain said their citizens were involved as well. A Norwegian woman said her husband called her saying he had been taken hostage.
In addition to the three foreigners killed, six others were wounded in the attack, including two foreigners, two police officers and two security agents, Algeria's state news agency reported.
Algerian forces have surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, an Algerian security official based in the region said, adding that the militants had come from Mali.
Yesterday's attack began with the ambush of a bus carrying employees from the gas plant to the nearby airport but the attackers were driven off, according to the Algerian government, which said three vehicles of heavily armed men were involved.
"After their failed attempt, the terrorist group headed to the complex's living quarters and took a number of workers with foreign nationalities hostage," said the statement, adding that authorities were following the situation very closely.
BP, together with Norwegian company Statoil and the Algerian state oil company, Sonatrach, operate the gas field. A Japanese company, JGC Corp, provides services for the facility as well.
Meanwhile, French troops launched their first ground assault against Islamist rebels in Mali yesterday in a broadening of their operation against battle-hardened al-Qaida-linked fighters who have resisted six days of air strikes.
France has called for international support against Islamist insurgents it says pose a threat to Africa and the West, acknowledging it faces a long fight against the well-equipped militant fighters who seized Mali's vast desert north last year.
French army chief Edouard Guillaud said his ground forces were stepping up their operation to engage directly "within hours" with the alliance of Islamist fighters, grouping al-Qaida's North African wing AQIM with Mali's home grown Ansar Dine and MUJWA militant movements.
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