Islamists seize 41 hostages at Algeria gas plant
- Published: 17 Jan 2013 at 03.45
- Online news: World
Islamist gunmen killed two people and took 41 Western hostages Wednesday in Algeria in what they said was a revenge attack on the country for opening its airspace to French warplanes hitting Islamists in Mali.
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. Algeria was targeted Wednesday in a deadly revenge attack in which militants seized 41 Western hostages.
The Islamists, who said they entered Algeria from northern Mali, told Mauritanian media they were holding 41 Westerners including French, British and Japanese citizens, as well as seven Americans, at a southern gas field.
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