On Thursday, following a massive raid by Algerian forces, hundreds of hostages held captive by Islamist militants at a desert gas complex were released, while several others were killed.
According to Reuters, at least 30 hostages were killed, many Westerners, along with at least 11 of their militant captors.
Reuters' Algerian security source reported that French, British and Japanese staff members were among those killed. However, there have been some disputes over how many hostages and militants were truly killed. Among the survivors was an Irish engineer, named Stephen McFaul, who reported that four jeeps filled with hostages were blown up by Algerian forces, Reuters reported.
The hostage situation, led by a militant group going by the name "Battalion of Blood," was a response to France's week-old military offensive in Mali. Hundreds of hostages were taken by the group, including some 600 Algerians and several Japanese, British, French, American, Norwegian, Romanian and an Austrian.
According to Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, Algerian state television announced that two Brits and two Filipinos had died. However, Reuters reported two Japanese, two Brits and a French national were among the at least seven foreign nationals killed. A total of 14 Japanese were still unaccounted for on Friday.
Among the 11 militants killed, only two were Algerian, while the rest were from across the Sahara, Reuters reported. However, the Islamists from the Masked Brigade, a Mali-based al-Qaeda offshoot, said that Algerian forces had killed 15 of their members.
A number of foreign governments criticized the Algerian operation, Globe and Mail reported. Britain's Foreign Office released a statement saying, "We should be under no illusion that there will be some bad and distressing news to follow from this terrorist attack."
Globe and Mail reported that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that the Obama administration was "concerned about reports of loss of life and are seeking clarity from the government of Algeria."
However, the Algerian government responded that it was forced to respond the way it did. "An important number of hostages were freed and an important number of terrorists were eliminated, and we regret the few dead and wounded," Algerian Communications Minister Mohand Said Oubelaid told national reporters.
Despite claims from the militants that the attack was conducted due to France's intervention in Mali, several sources state that the attack was planned well in advance. According to Reuters, a local man who escaped the gas complex said that the militants appeared to have knowledge of the complex's layout.
The man, 53-year-old Abdelkader, told Reuters that the militants announced from the beginning of the raid that they would "not hurt Muslims but were only interested in the Christians and infidels."
The attack in Algeria did not sway France from continuing its mission in Mali, Reuters reported. French President François Holland said on Thursday, "What is happening in Algeria justifies all the more the decision I made in the name of France to intervene in Mali in like with the U.N. charter."
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