Algeria hostage situation reportedly comes to violent end, as Clinton calls siege 'act of terror'

[Geee]

Fox News:

The four-day hostage standoff in Algeria reportedly came to a bloody end Saturday when the country's special forces stormed the gas plant and killed 11 militants, but not before they allegedly executed seven hostages, the state news agency reported.

U.S. officials have not confirmed to Fox News that any hostages were executed at the remote desert gas plant Saturday.

The report, quoting a security source, didn't specify if any hostages or militants remained alive or give the nationalities of the dead.

There was no official count of how many hostages were still being held by the final group of militants holed up in the gas refinery, but the militants themselves had reported they were still holding three Belgian, two Americans, a Japanese and a Briton.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an improved counterterrorism relationship with Algeria and 'all countries in the region' after an American from Texas was identified as one of the hostages who died at a natural-gas site during a raid by the Algerian military.

[Geee]

ALGERIAN ASSAULT ENDS CRISIS, 19 HOSTAGES DEAD

 

AIN AMENAS, Algeria (AP) -- In a bloody finale, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamist extremists that left at least 19 hostages and 29 militants dead. Dozens of foreign workers remain unaccounted for, leading to fears the death toll could rise.

With few details emerging from the remote site in eastern Algeria, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation.

The siege at Ain Amenas transfixed the world after radical Islamists linked to al-Qaida stormed the complex, which contained hundreds of plant workers from all over the world, and then held them hostage surrounded by the Algerian military and its attack helicopters for four tense days that were punctuated with gunbattles and dramatic tales of escape.

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ALGERIA_KIDNAPPING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-01-19-09-51-18

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Algeria Bashing by Incompetent America: A Bad Idea

 

 

The hostage crisis seems to be winding down after a final assault by Algerian forces killed or scattered most of the remaining jihadis occupying the gas processing plant in the south of the country. As of this morning, 23 hostages were reported killed, with the number likely to rise as authorities begin to identify the 20 or so remaining charred corpses.

 

(Snip)

 

Furthermore, Algerian officials may have been more worried that failure to act decisively would increase the political strength of the terrorists and potentially rekindle a broader war in Algeria than they were about saving the lives of some foreign hostages. While this attitude might rankle foreign governments, it’s hardly beyond the pale. In our mind it’s an open question whether you do more to discourage future terror attacks and save innocent lives by negotiating endlessly and patiently with kidnappers and hostage takers. Maybe the Algerians are right; if terrorists knew that hostage taking couldn’t protect them, we might see fewer hostages taken and fewer such attacks in the future.

 

Regardless, given how the Libyan afterparty has turned out, the Europeans, the Algerians and the Americans now have a much uglier and more dangerous mess on their hands, and like it or not we are in this thing together. Good relations with Algeria are essential if Libya, Mali, Niger and perhaps a number of other countries aren’t to become sanctuaries and operational platforms for west hating jihadis. Let the military work quietly with their Algerian colleagues behind the scenes to think about lessons learned and best practice for the confrontations that are sure to follow. Sharp public criticism of a government that is fighting a terror attack in its own territory is not the best way to launch an era of good feelings.