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| Algeria hostages: Intervention played down as operation under way | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The possibility of Western intervention to release foreign nationals held by Islamist militants in Algeria has been played down by No 10, as an Algerian military operation gets under way. | |
| The prime minister has been updated on the latest situation by the Algerian PM, the foreign office says. | |
| The kidnappers occupied a gas facility in eastern Algeria on Wednesday, after killing a Briton and an Algerian. | |
| Media reports quote militants saying 34 hostages have been killed. | |
| Militants told local media that Algerian forces had opened fire from the air. | |
| There has been no official confirmation of any deaths. The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the situation is still very confused "with lots of rumours". | |
| Number 10 said the UK would consider any requests for assistance from the Algerian government but so far it had received no such approach. | Number 10 said the UK would consider any requests for assistance from the Algerian government but so far it had received no such approach. |
| Some Britons are among those captured - they include a number of Scots, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has said, while a man from west Belfast, travelling on a Republic of Ireland passport, is also reported to be among those held. | |
| The hostages are also said to include Japanese, US, French and Norwegian nationals. | |
| Earlier, Algerian media and officials reported a number of hostages had escaped the militants. | |
| The Foreign Office was unable to confirm that any hostages had escaped. | The Foreign Office was unable to confirm that any hostages had escaped. |
| In a statement, BP said: "The situation on site remains unresolved and fragile. Armed groups still occupy the site and hold a number of site personnel." | In a statement, BP said: "The situation on site remains unresolved and fragile. Armed groups still occupy the site and hold a number of site personnel." |
| Cobra meeting | Cobra meeting |
| Meanwhile. David Cameron has chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra, to discuss the situation. | Meanwhile. David Cameron has chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra, to discuss the situation. |
| The prime minister will chair a further Cobra discussion later and Number 10 says if necessary another meeting will take place on Friday morning in the Hague ahead of his speech on Europe. | The prime minister will chair a further Cobra discussion later and Number 10 says if necessary another meeting will take place on Friday morning in the Hague ahead of his speech on Europe. |
| He has also spoken to his counterparts in Norway and Japan. | |
| The prime minister's spokesman said the situation was "very serious and dangerous" but the government was "working through" the Algerians and BP, which part-controls the facility that was stormed. | The prime minister's spokesman said the situation was "very serious and dangerous" but the government was "working through" the Algerians and BP, which part-controls the facility that was stormed. |
| In the meantime, Algerian troops surround the complex at In Amenas, operated by state oil company, Sonatrach, along with Britain's BP and Norway's Statoil. | In the meantime, Algerian troops surround the complex at In Amenas, operated by state oil company, Sonatrach, along with Britain's BP and Norway's Statoil. |
| Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the militants, who claimed they had seized 41 foreign workers, wanted to leave the country with the hostages, but he had refused to let them go. | Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the militants, who claimed they had seized 41 foreign workers, wanted to leave the country with the hostages, but he had refused to let them go. |
| He said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year, when he set up his own armed group after apparently falling out with other leaders. | He said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year, when he set up his own armed group after apparently falling out with other leaders. |
| The prime minister's spokesman said the situation was "very serious and dangerous" but the government's "focus is on working through the Algerian government and the company". | The prime minister's spokesman said the situation was "very serious and dangerous" but the government's "focus is on working through the Algerian government and the company". |
| A government source said: "This is a situation where the Algerian government, understandably, very much sees itself as in the lead in its sovereign territory." | A government source said: "This is a situation where the Algerian government, understandably, very much sees itself as in the lead in its sovereign territory." |