LONDON, Jan 17, 2013 (AFP)
LONDON, Jan 17, 2013 (AFP)
Algerian authorities confirmed to Britain there was an “ongoing operation” on Thursday at the Algerian gas plant where
Islamist gunmen were holding dozens of foreign hostages, the Foreign Office said.
“The prime minister was updated on the latest situation by the Algerian prime minister in the last hour,” a spokeswoman said.
“It remains an ongoing situation. The Algerian authorities have confirmed that there is an ongoing operation,” she added.
A spokesman for the kidnappers told a Mauritania-based news agency that 34 hostages and 15 kidnappers had been killed in an Algerian army assault on the BP-operated plant.
The militants killed two people including one Briton in Wednesday’s attack at southern Algerian gas field and took 41 hostages, including British, Irish, French, Norwegian and Japanese citizens.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman said earlier Thursday that Britain would consider any requests for help from Algeria in its efforts to free the hostages.
