At least 10 Britons remain unaccounted for as Algerian special forces continue to hunt for the remaining al Qaeda-linked militants at a BP gas plant.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has chaired a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergencies committee and said on Twitter the hostage crisis would "remain our top priority until every British national is accounted for".
Around 30 foreigners are still missing after the terrorists stormed the complex on Wednesday and seized hundreds of workers.
The British ambassador to Algeria is expected to get permission to go to the site with a small consulate team later today, Sky sources said.
A UK plane carrying a "diplomatic team" landed in Algeria around 280 miles from the hostage scene. Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said the SAS were on standby.
The Algerian state news agency APS reported 12 foreign and Algerian workers and 18 Islamist militants have been killed in fighting after government troops carried out a raid at the In Amenas installation on Thursday.
A police checkpoint near the In Amenas gas installation Details remain sketchy but the figures suggest around a dozen of the original group of 30 heavily-armed terrorists could still be holed up at the complex - possibly still holding hostages.
The Algerian military control the vast residential barracks, while gunmen are in the industrial plant itself with an undisclosed number of hostages, making it difficult for special forces to intervene, Reuters reported.
The army is surrounding the plant and helicopters are monitoring the area, Algerian state radio said, quoting a reporter in the city of In Amenas.
Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, reporting from neighbouring Mali, said: "There appears to be a stand-off between Algerian security forces who have surrounded this part of the gas facilitation complex and they know - in the words of the Algerian government - a few Islamists who are holding some of the workers hostage in that area of the complex.
"It appears to be a much smaller area, much more contained than when the siege first began three days ago, when they were holding people in the living quarters and the gas plant area."
The siege took place at the gas complex in eastern Algeria Hundreds of workers escaped on Thursday when the army launched their operation, but some hostages were reportedly killed in the assault at the facility, which is jointly run by BP, the Norwegian energy firm Statoil and the Algerian state oil company.
Despite the casualties among the hostages, an Algerian government source quoted by APS strongly defended the military operation, saying it prevented a "true disaster" which would have caused "immeasurable" human and material damage.
One Briton is known to have died earlier in the crisis.
APS reported around 100 of the 132 foreign workers at the site had been freed along with 573 locally employed staff.
Irishman Stephen McFaul, who managed to flee from the kidnappers, is expected to be reunited with his family later.
The 36-year-old father-of-two from west Belfast is understood to have been able to escape when a vehicle he was in crashed after being attacked by the Algerian army - despite having explosives placed around his neck.
People pictured outside a hospital in In Amenas Hostage Iain Strachan, 38, from Howwood in Renfrewshire, spoke to an Algerian television channel about his ordeal.
He said was "very relieved to be out", adding: "Obviously we still don't really know what's happening back on site. So, as much as we're glad to be out, our thoughts are with colleagues who are still there at the moment."
He said the Algerian army's assistance has been "fantastic". He added: "I've never been so relieved as when they came and got us off site. We thank them very much for that."
Mr Strachan was interviewed on a bus alongside Darren Matthews, 29, from Teesside.
Mr Matthews said: "I am relieved to be going to see friends and family. I feel safe at the moment but I won't feel 100% happy until I'm back in the UK, when I am back with my family.
In Amenas in eastern Algeria is near the border with Libya "My heart goes out to the guys that are still there and hopefully everyone comes home safe because, at the end of the day, it's only work. No-one should have to go through that just for a job."
The militants are believed to be under the command of the al Qaeda-linked terrorist Mokhtar Balmokhtar, a one-eyed Algerian known as The Uncatchable, who specialises in hostage taking and has strong links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The group behind the raid Katibat Moulathamine, or The Masked Ones, said it was retaliating for French military intervention against al Qaeda-backed rebels in Mali.
The gunmen are said to be demanding the release of two terror figures held in the US, including the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman, in return for American hostages.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Algeria Hostage Crisis: UK's 'Top Priority'
Dengan url
http://jidatlancip.blogspot.com/2013/01/algeria-hostage-crisis-uks-top-priority.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Algeria Hostage Crisis: UK's 'Top Priority'
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Algeria Hostage Crisis: UK's 'Top Priority'
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar