12 hostages killed in rescue operation at Algerian gas plant

New reports say twelve hostages have died in a botched operation to rescue workers being held captive by militants at a gas plant in eastern Algeria.

On Friday, the Algerian Press Service quoted a security source as saying, “As well as the 18 terrorists who were killed, 12 Algerian and foreign workers died.”

On Thursday, the Algerian army launched an assault on the militants, who stormed the gas plant, which is located in the town of In Amenas, on Wednesday.

Reporters say that seven foreigners remain in captivity at the gas plant — three Belgians, two US citizens, one Briton, and one Japanese.

On Thursday, the militants blew up a part of the plant to keep the Algerian forces at bay.

Earlier reports said the army had freed 573 Algerians and around 100 foreign hostages. However, about 30 people remain unaccounted for and it is still not clear how many hostages were freed and how many were killed.

An Algerian government source said the army had gone in under “extremely complex” conditions and had averted a “disaster.”

The militant group, which splintered off of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), is known as the Signed-in-Blood Battalion, which could also be translated as Those who Sign with Blood Battalion, but has also used the names the Masked Men Brigade and the Khaled Abu al-Abbas Brigade.

The Signed-in-Blood Battalion said the hostage-taking incident was carried out in reprisal for France’s intervention in Mali’s internal affairs and has demanded an immediate end to the military offensive.

Sources close to the group’s leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, said the gunmen also want to exchange the US citizens for prisoners held in the United States.

On January 11, France launched a military intervention in Mali under the pretext of halting the advance of militants in the African country.

Four days later, France announced that it would more than triple the number of its troops in Mali from 800 to 2,500. French soldiers launched their first ground attack against the rebel forces on January 16.