{"id":21257,"date":"2013-01-16T18:56:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T17:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/hostages-mali-algeria-france-142\/"},"modified":"2013-01-16T18:56:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T17:56:00","slug":"mali-islamists-kill-3-take-41-hostage-in-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/mali-islamists-kill-3-take-41-hostage-in-algeria\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Mali\u2019 Islamists kill 3, take 41 hostage in Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An undated handout picture released by the BP petroleum company on January 16, 2013, shows their operation at the In Amenas field in the Sahara desert, 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) southeast of Algiers, close to the Libyan border. (AFP Photo\/BP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Islamists claiming to come from Mali killed three foreigners and are holding 41 more hostage after a raid on a compound near an Algerian gas field. The attack is reportedly in retaliation to the ongoing French military campaign in Mali.<\/p>\n

The Algerian interior ministry said a heavily armed terrorist group using three vehicles launched an early morning attack against a base owned by Sontrach, the Algerian national oil company.<\/p>\n

“Forty-one westerners including seven Americans, French, British and Japanese citizens have been taken hostage,”<\/em> a spokesman for the Islamists told the Mauritanian News Agency and Sahara Media.<\/p>\n

He said five of the hostages were being held at the gas plant, while the others were in a nearby housing complex.<\/p>\n

Algerian security forces have surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, an Algerian security official based in the region told AP. He confirmed that the militants had come from Mali, though he spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press.<\/p>\n

The Algerian Press Service is reporting that the Algerians taken hostage have been set free.<\/p>\n

A Briton and an Algerian security guard were killed and seven people were injured in the assault, including two foreigners, Algeria’s official APS news agency said.<\/p>\n

A French national was also killed in the attack, Reuters cites a local source as saying.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Office in London said it could not confirm that a Briton had been killed, only that \u201cBritish Nationals \u201dwere caught up in an “ongoing terrorist incident.”<\/em><\/p>\n

BP, which jointly administers the In Amenas gas field with the Norwegian firm Statoil and Sontrach, released a statement confirming an \u201congoing security incident\u201d at the site.<\/p>\n

An al-Qaeda affiliated group said the raid was executed in retaliation to Algeria\u2019s decision to allow France to use its airspace to launch airstrikes against militants in Mila, where French forces have been targeting Islamists fighters since last week.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the group called Algeria’s attitude “a betrayal for the blood of Algerian martyrs slain by the French colonists.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The group further said to ensure the safety of the kidnapped hostages in Algeria, the French attack on Northern Mali must end, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday French troops launched their first ground operation against Islamist rebels following six days of airstrikes.<\/p>\n

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday French forces would remain in Mali until stability was returned to the conflict-torn West African state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An undated handout picture released by the BP petroleum company on January 16, 2013, shows their operation at the In Amenas field in the Sahara desert, 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) southeast of Algiers, close to the Libyan border. (AFP Photo\/BP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Islamists claiming to come from Mali killed three foreigners and are holding 41 more hostage after a raid on a compound near an Algerian gas field. The attack is reportedly in retaliation to the ongoing French military campaign in Mali.<\/p>\n

The Algerian interior ministry said a heavily armed terrorist group using three vehicles launched an early morning attack against a base owned by Sontrach, the Algerian national oil company.<\/p>\n

“Forty-one westerners including seven Americans, French, British and Japanese citizens have been taken hostage,”<\/em> a spokesman for the Islamists told the Mauritanian News Agency and Sahara Media.<\/p>\n

He said five of the hostages were being held at the gas plant, while the others were in a nearby housing complex.<\/p>\n

Algerian security forces have surrounded the kidnappers and negotiations for the release of the hostages are ongoing, an Algerian security official based in the region told AP. He confirmed that the militants had come from Mali, though he spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press.<\/p>\n

The Algerian Press Service is reporting that the Algerians taken hostage have been set free.<\/p>\n

A Briton and an Algerian security guard were killed and seven people were injured in the assault, including two foreigners, Algeria’s official APS news agency said.<\/p>\n

A French national was also killed in the attack, Reuters cites a local source as saying.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Office in London said it could not confirm that a Briton had been killed, only that “British Nationals ”were caught up in an “ongoing terrorist incident.”<\/em><\/p>\n

BP, which jointly administers the In Amenas gas field with the Norwegian firm Statoil and Sontrach, released a statement confirming an “ongoing security incident” at the site.<\/p>\n

An al-Qaeda affiliated group said the raid was executed in retaliation to Algeria’s decision to allow France to use its airspace to launch airstrikes against militants in Mila, where French forces have been targeting Islamists fighters since last week.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the group called Algeria’s attitude “a betrayal for the blood of Algerian martyrs slain by the French colonists.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The group further said to ensure the safety of the kidnapped hostages in Algeria, the French attack on Northern Mali must end, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday French troops launched their first ground operation against Islamist rebels following six days of airstrikes.<\/p>\n

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday French forces would remain in Mali until stability was returned to the conflict-torn West African state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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