The hostage crisis is over, but nations are scrambling to find out how
many are still unaccounted for at the remote Algerian facility after
three days of chaos.
FULL STORY
- Questions in aftermath of crisis
- 'Mr. Marlboro': Jihadist behind attack
- Hostage crisis over
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- Attack linked to Libya? | Watch
Nations scramble to account for missing after Algeria hostage crisis
January 20, 2013 -- Updated 1917 GMT (0317 HKT)Freed Norwegian hostage Oddvar Birkedal is escorted at a police station in Amenas, Algeria, on Saturday.(CNN) -- The hostage crisis in eastern Algeria is over, but the questions remain.STORY HIGHLIGHTS- NEW: BP says four workers are not accounted for; Statoil says five employees are missing
- A new video reportedly claims responsibility in the name of al Qaeda
- U.S. lawmaker: Algerians "decided they were going to handle it their way"
- The number of victims will likely go up, an Algerian official says
Among them, exactly how many people are unaccounted for at a remote natural gas facility after three days of chaos that ended Saturday, leaving 23 hostages and dozens of Islamist militants dead.Some 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners were freed, the Algerian Interior Ministry said.Britain's BP said Sunday that four of its workers remained unaccounted for, and Norway's Statoil said five of its employees were missing."Search efforts are ongoing at the gas installation, looking for more possible victims. I fear the numbers will be updated with more victims later today when the search operation is expected to end," said Mohammed Said, the Algerian communication minister.The attackers are members of six nationalities and include Arabs, Africans and people from other non-African nations, he told state-run Radio Algeria.The jihadist believed to be behind the attack has reportedly released a video claiming responsibility in the name of al Qaeda.Mauritania's Sahara Media news agency said Sunday that it had obtained a video from Moktar Belmoktar, who leads a group associated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb."We at al Qaeda are claiming responsibility of this blessed guerrilla operation," Belmoktar said, according to Sahara Media.Regional media had previously reported that Belmoktar's Al-Mulathameen Brigade was responsible for the siege. The news agency did not post the video, and CNN has not independently confirmed its authenticity.Andrew Lebovich, a Senegal-based security analyst, told CNN that the claim appeared to be authentic."Belmoktar has communicated with this news site and similar sites several times before," he said.Eleven of the former hostages -- including several British citizens -- have received medical treatment and psychological counseling from the U.S. military at a U.S. naval base in Sigonella, Italy, a U.S. official said Sunday. The hostages were brought to the base from Algeria on Friday, the official said, and are being flown back to their home countries as their conditions warrant. The remains of one American hostage were also brought to the base, the official said.Algeria hostage crisis over
Balancing profits, security in Algeria
In a statement Saturday night, the White House said it remained in close contact with the Algerian government to "gain a fuller understanding of what took place."The State Department, meanwhile, warned against travel to Algeria.In the United Kingdom, British Foreign Secretary William Hague echoed the White House's remarks, saying his government too was "working hard to get definitive information" about each individual.Americans and Britons were among those held hostage as were workers from various other nations.Algeria has not specified the nationalities of the hostages killed.Japan, for example, said Sunday that 10 of its nationals were yet to be confirmed safe."As such, we are taking the government announcement that there were multiple Japanese killed extremely seriously," said a spokesman for JGC Corp., an engineering firm that was involved in gas production in In Amenas, where the attack occurred.Algeria said that among the 32 militants killed, only three were Algerians; the rest were from other countries.In a statement Saturday, the Algerian Interior Ministry said the military found a number of "foreign military uniforms" in its sweep of the facility to clear it of mines planted by militants.Raids turn deadlyMilitants in pickup trucks struck the sprawling gas complex in In Amenas at dawn Wednesday, gathered the Westerners who worked there into a group and tied them up.The plant is run by Algeria's state oil company, in cooperation with foreign firms such as Statoil and BP -- and as such, employed workers from several foreign countries.Escaped hostage's family tells tale
Libya's connection to hostage crisis
Who is Moktar Belmokhtar?
The kidnappers wielded AK-47 rifles and put explosive-laden vests on some hostages, according to a U.S. State Department official.Algeria said the attack was in retaliation for allowing France to use Algerian airspace for an offensive against Islamist militants in neighboring Mali.Sahara News' report Sunday described Belmoktar saying that "40 immigrant Jihadists and supporters of Muslim countries" led the siege in retaliation for the Mali offensive.But regional analysts believe it was too sophisticated to have been planned in just days.The next day, Algerian special forces moved in because the government said the militants wanted to flee to Mali.The Islamic extremists also planned to blow up the gas installation and rigged it with mines throughout, the U.S. official said.Thursday's military incursion succeeded in freeing some hostages -- but not all.Some survivors described their harrowing escapes by rigging up disguises and sneaking to safety with locals, with at least one survivor running for his life with plastic explosives strapped around his neck.Several hostages died. And the Algerian military came under criticism from some quarters for unnecessarily endangering the lives of the hostages.Undeterred, the government followed with a second push Saturday. That assault killed the remaining hostage-takers but resulted in more hostage deaths.The army intervened "to avoid a bloody turning point of events in this extremely dangerous situation," the Algerian Interior Ministry said Saturday."It was clear that the terrorists were determined to escape the country with the captives and to bomb the gas installations."On Sunday, one American lawmaker said the Algerian government had turned down U.S. offers to help end the hostage situation."They decided they were going to handle it their way," said Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the U.S. House intelligence committee. "They did not want us or the other hostage nations involved in the decision-making."British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond called the loss of life "appalling and unacceptable," but laid the blame solely on the terrorists.Now, individual nations are scrambling to find out what happened to their citizens. It is not clear how many hostages were seized by the Islamist militants in the first place.ColombiaColombia's president said a citizen was presumed dead.FranceThere are no known French hostages unaccounted for, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.One man -- identified as Yann Desjeux -- died after telling the French newspaper Sud Ouest on Thursday that he and 34 other hostages of nine different nationalities were well-treated.JapanThere are still 10 Japanese who have yet to be confirmed safe, JGC -- the engineering firm -- said Sunday.MalaysiaThree hostages were on their way back to Malaysia, the country's state-run news agency said Sunday. But there is a "worrying possibility" that another is dead while a fifth is unaccounted for, the agency said.NorwayFive Norwegians are missing, while eight are safe, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said. "Another day without answers has increased our worry," Statoil CEO Helge Lund said on Sunday.RomaniaOne Romanian lost his life, the country's Foreign Ministry said Saturday. Four other Romanians were freed.United KingdomThree British citizens were killed, the Foreign Office said Sunday. Three other British nationals and a UK resident are also "believed dead," he said. Twenty-two other Britons who were taken hostage have safely returned home.United StatesAt least one American, identified as Frederick Buttaccio, is among the dead, the State Department said. Six freed Americans left Algeria and one remained.CNN's Paul Cruickshank, Slma Shelbayah, Kevin Bohn, Barbara Starr and Per Nyberg contributed to this report.COPY http://edition.cnn.com
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