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| As Rescue Operation Continues in Algeria, Fate of Hostages Remains Unclear | As Rescue Operation Continues in Algeria, Fate of Hostages Remains Unclear |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BAMAKO, Mali — Dozens of hostages may still be held by militants at a remote gas field facility in the Algerian desert on Friday, according to Algeria’s state-run news agency, a day after the nation’s military launched an intense assault that freed captives, killed kidnappers but also left some hostages dead. | |
| The agency said that the country’s special forces were seeking to reach a “peaceful solution” with a “terrorist group” that was still holding hostages at the gas field. It also gave a new sense of how many people may have been at the facility when the militants seized it on Wednesday, asserting that nearly 650 had managed to leave the site since then, including 573 Algerians and more than half of the 132 foreigners it said had been abducted. | |
| But that still left many people unaccounted for, adding to the global concern about the fate of the hostages, who come from as many as 10 different nations. Estimates of the foreign casualties have ranged from 4 to 35, though the Algerian government has still not released any official tallies, leaving governments around the world scrambling for information. | |
| Intensifying the uncertainties, a spokesman for the militants, who belong to a group called Al Mulathameen, said Friday that they planned further attacks in Algeria, according to a report by the Mauritanian news agency ANI, which maintains frequent contact with militant groups in the region. The spokesman called upon Algerians to “keep away from the installations of foreign companies, because we will suddenly attack where no one would expect it,” ANI reported. | |
| A United States Africa Command spokesman, Ben Benson, said an Air Force aircraft had landed at an airstrip near the facility and was evacuating Americans and people from other countries involved in the hostage event. He said they would be flown to an American facility in Europe. | A United States Africa Command spokesman, Ben Benson, said an Air Force aircraft had landed at an airstrip near the facility and was evacuating Americans and people from other countries involved in the hostage event. He said they would be flown to an American facility in Europe. |
| The Algerian military operation began on Thursday without consultation with the foreign governments whose citizens worked at the plant. It has been marked by a fog of conflicting reports, compounded by the remoteness of the gas plant, near a town called In Amenas hundreds of miles across the desert from the Algerian capital, Algiers, and close to the Libyan border. | The Algerian military operation began on Thursday without consultation with the foreign governments whose citizens worked at the plant. It has been marked by a fog of conflicting reports, compounded by the remoteness of the gas plant, near a town called In Amenas hundreds of miles across the desert from the Algerian capital, Algiers, and close to the Libyan border. |
| Algeria’s state radio, citing an official source, reported on Friday that 18 militants had been killed, the first precise death count offered by state media. The state news agency also suggested that hundreds of civilians “had been freed,” though many of the employees inside the sprawling facility may have simply been on site at the time of the militant assault and were not necessarily being held by the kidnappers. | |
| Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said the number of Britons at risk was estimated late Thursday at “less than 30.” That number has now been “quite significantly reduced,” he said, adding that he could not give details because the crisis is continuing. | Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said the number of Britons at risk was estimated late Thursday at “less than 30.” That number has now been “quite significantly reduced,” he said, adding that he could not give details because the crisis is continuing. |
| Offering a broad account of Algeria’s handling of the operation, he told lawmakers: “We were not informed of this in advance. I was told by the Algerian prime minister while it was taking place. He said that the terrorists had tried to flee, that they judged there to be an immediate threat to the lives of the hostages and had felt obliged to respond.” | Offering a broad account of Algeria’s handling of the operation, he told lawmakers: “We were not informed of this in advance. I was told by the Algerian prime minister while it was taking place. He said that the terrorists had tried to flee, that they judged there to be an immediate threat to the lives of the hostages and had felt obliged to respond.” |
| He added: “This is a large and complex site and they are still pursuing terrorists and possibly some of the hostages in other areas of the site. The Algerian prime minister has just told me this morning that they are now looking at all possible routes to resolving this crisis.” | He added: “This is a large and complex site and they are still pursuing terrorists and possibly some of the hostages in other areas of the site. The Algerian prime minister has just told me this morning that they are now looking at all possible routes to resolving this crisis.” |
| BP, the British-based energy giant that jointly controls the gas installation in Algeria, said in a statement on Friday that there was a “small number of BP employees” at the facility “whose current location and situation remain uncertain.” The company said it flew out 11 of its staff members along with hundreds of employees of other oil companies on Thursday. | BP, the British-based energy giant that jointly controls the gas installation in Algeria, said in a statement on Friday that there was a “small number of BP employees” at the facility “whose current location and situation remain uncertain.” The company said it flew out 11 of its staff members along with hundreds of employees of other oil companies on Thursday. |
| The Japanese government said on Friday that three of its citizens had escaped but that 14 were still unaccounted for. On Friday, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Mr. Cameron in London as Pentagon officials were continuing to try to learn details about the raid. | The Japanese government said on Friday that three of its citizens had escaped but that 14 were still unaccounted for. On Friday, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Mr. Cameron in London as Pentagon officials were continuing to try to learn details about the raid. |
| “We are working around the clock to ensure the safe return of our citizens and we will continue to be in close consultation with the Algerian government,” Mr. Panetta said in a speech in London before meeting with Mr. Cameron. | “We are working around the clock to ensure the safe return of our citizens and we will continue to be in close consultation with the Algerian government,” Mr. Panetta said in a speech in London before meeting with Mr. Cameron. |
| Senior American military officials said an unarmed American Predator drone was monitoring the gas field site. One senior official said that seven to eight Americans were among the hostages — the first official indication of the number of Americans involved — and that he did not know if any had been killed in the raid. | Senior American military officials said an unarmed American Predator drone was monitoring the gas field site. One senior official said that seven to eight Americans were among the hostages — the first official indication of the number of Americans involved — and that he did not know if any had been killed in the raid. |
| On Thursday, despite requests for communication and pleas to consider the safety of their abducted citizens, the United States, Britain and Japan said they had not been told in advance about the military assault, stirring frustration that the Algerians might have been overly aggressive and caused needless casualties. But the Algerian government, which has a history of violent suppression of Islamist militancy, stood by its decision to deal forcefully with the kidnappers, who were holding Algerians and citizens of nine other countries. | On Thursday, despite requests for communication and pleas to consider the safety of their abducted citizens, the United States, Britain and Japan said they had not been told in advance about the military assault, stirring frustration that the Algerians might have been overly aggressive and caused needless casualties. But the Algerian government, which has a history of violent suppression of Islamist militancy, stood by its decision to deal forcefully with the kidnappers, who were holding Algerians and citizens of nine other countries. |
| “Those who think we will negotiate with terrorists are delusional,” the communications minister, Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, said in an announcement about the assault on the facility near In Amenas, in eastern Algeria. | “Those who think we will negotiate with terrorists are delusional,” the communications minister, Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, said in an announcement about the assault on the facility near In Amenas, in eastern Algeria. |
| “Those who think we will surrender to their blackmail are delusional.” | “Those who think we will surrender to their blackmail are delusional.” |
| Citing information from Algerian officials, Mr. Cameron told Parliament that the kidnappers’ attack began on Wednesday when “the terrorists first attacked two buses en route to the Amenas airfield before attacking the residential compound and the gas facility at the installation. It appears to have been a large, well-coordinated and heavily armed assault and it is probable that it had been preplanned.” | Citing information from Algerian officials, Mr. Cameron told Parliament that the kidnappers’ attack began on Wednesday when “the terrorists first attacked two buses en route to the Amenas airfield before attacking the residential compound and the gas facility at the installation. It appears to have been a large, well-coordinated and heavily armed assault and it is probable that it had been preplanned.” |
| The attackers took hostages at both the residential compound and at the gas plant itself, he said. | The attackers took hostages at both the residential compound and at the gas plant itself, he said. |
| Earlier reports had suggested that the Algerian military struck when the assailants sought to move with their captives. | Earlier reports had suggested that the Algerian military struck when the assailants sought to move with their captives. |
| Stephen McFaul, 36, a hostage from Northern Ireland, told relatives that the kidnappers put explosives around his neck but that he was able to escape after Algerian forces attacked a convoy of five vehicles in which the abductors were seeking to transport their captives, according to his brother Brian McFaul. Four of the vehicles were hit, but the one in which he Stephen McFaul was traveling crashed and he fled, the brother said. | Stephen McFaul, 36, a hostage from Northern Ireland, told relatives that the kidnappers put explosives around his neck but that he was able to escape after Algerian forces attacked a convoy of five vehicles in which the abductors were seeking to transport their captives, according to his brother Brian McFaul. Four of the vehicles were hit, but the one in which he Stephen McFaul was traveling crashed and he fled, the brother said. |
| The abductions — among the boldest seizures of foreign hostages in years — were meant to avenge France’s armed intervention in neighboring Mali, said Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, the Algerian communications minister. That conflict has escalated since French warplanes began striking Islamist fighters who have carved out a vast haven there. | The abductions — among the boldest seizures of foreign hostages in years — were meant to avenge France’s armed intervention in neighboring Mali, said Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, the Algerian communications minister. That conflict has escalated since French warplanes began striking Islamist fighters who have carved out a vast haven there. |
| The fighters had been prepared to attack the site for nearly two months, the militants’ spokesman said, according to the ANI report, because they believed that the Algerian government, which has emerged in news reports as the focus of the group’s anger, “was surely going to be the ally of France” in the Malian conflict. | The fighters had been prepared to attack the site for nearly two months, the militants’ spokesman said, according to the ANI report, because they believed that the Algerian government, which has emerged in news reports as the focus of the group’s anger, “was surely going to be the ally of France” in the Malian conflict. |
| As France continued to build up reinforcements in Mali, aiming to reach 2,500 soldiers on the ground, the Malian Army said on Friday that its troops had retaken the central town of Konna, which Islamists seized at the beginning of the conflict. | As France continued to build up reinforcements in Mali, aiming to reach 2,500 soldiers on the ground, the Malian Army said on Friday that its troops had retaken the central town of Konna, which Islamists seized at the beginning of the conflict. |
| On Thursday, the United States became more deeply involved in the war, working with the French to determine how to best deploy American C-5 cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment into Mali, according to an American military official. The United States has long been wary about stepping more directly into the Mali conflict, worried that it could provoke precisely the kind of anti-Western attack that took place in Algeria, with deadly consequences. After the raid to free the hostages, the Algerians acknowledged a price had been paid. | On Thursday, the United States became more deeply involved in the war, working with the French to determine how to best deploy American C-5 cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment into Mali, according to an American military official. The United States has long been wary about stepping more directly into the Mali conflict, worried that it could provoke precisely the kind of anti-Western attack that took place in Algeria, with deadly consequences. After the raid to free the hostages, the Algerians acknowledged a price had been paid. |
| “The operation resulted in the neutralization of a large number of terrorists and the liberation of a considerable number of hostages,” said Mr. Oublaïd. “Unfortunately, we deplore also the death of some, as well as some who were wounded.” | “The operation resulted in the neutralization of a large number of terrorists and the liberation of a considerable number of hostages,” said Mr. Oublaïd. “Unfortunately, we deplore also the death of some, as well as some who were wounded.” |
| In a telephone interview, one Algerian who escaped, who identified himself as Mohamed Elias, said some of the hostages had exploited the chaos created by the Algerian assault to flee. “We used the opportunity,” he said, “and we just escaped.” | In a telephone interview, one Algerian who escaped, who identified himself as Mohamed Elias, said some of the hostages had exploited the chaos created by the Algerian assault to flee. “We used the opportunity,” he said, “and we just escaped.” |
Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako and Alan Cowell and Scott Sayare from Paris. Reporting was contributed by Rick Gladstone from New York; Elisabeth Bumiller, Julia Werdigier and John F. Burns from London; Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger from Washington; Martin Fackler and Hiroko Tabuchi from Tokyo; and Mayy El Sheikh from Cairo. | Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako and Alan Cowell and Scott Sayare from Paris. Reporting was contributed by Rick Gladstone from New York; Elisabeth Bumiller, Julia Werdigier and John F. Burns from London; Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger from Washington; Martin Fackler and Hiroko Tabuchi from Tokyo; and Mayy El Sheikh from Cairo. |