This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21064114
The article has changed 21 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| Algeria crisis: Further UK casualties feared in Algeria | Algeria crisis: Further UK casualties feared in Algeria |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| UK officials are preparing for news of further British casualties after the Algerian military ended a hostage crisis at a desert gas facility. | UK officials are preparing for news of further British casualties after the Algerian military ended a hostage crisis at a desert gas facility. |
| David Cameron, who has postponed a speech on Europe due on Friday, warned of possible "bad news" to follow. | |
| The BBC's Nick Robinson said sources had told him officials were prepared for "multiple" British casualties. | The BBC's Nick Robinson said sources had told him officials were prepared for "multiple" British casualties. |
| A number of foreign nationals had been taken hostage near In Amenas. One Briton was confirmed dead on Wednesday. | A number of foreign nationals had been taken hostage near In Amenas. One Briton was confirmed dead on Wednesday. |
| The full details of the operation launched by the Algerian military, a day after the gas plant workers were taken hostage, are still emerging. | |
| As many as 600 Algerians and four foreigners, including two Scots, were freed in Thursday's operation but others died, the state news agency reported. | |
| I am told that when the news came from the Algerian government that they had begun a military operation without notifying or consulting with other Western countries, including the UK, the reaction in the room - I'm told from someone who heard - was: "Please God, what are they doing?" | |
| The reason for that I'm told was that the British government has offered the Algerian government advice on how to deal with a siege situation, either negotiations or a military solution. | |
| Because the feeling in London, and I am told in other capitals too, was the Algerian government did not have the expertise to deal with this. | |
| 'Still being searched' | |
| Algerian state television has reported that two Britons were among four foreign hostages killed, but there has been no confirmation of this. | |
| The British government has been told that the military operation is over but that the gas plant is still being searched to see if people are hiding or if there are still groups of hostage-takers who have not yet been located. | |
| The AFP news agency quoted officials as saying the army had not secured the whole site. | |
| Speaking before the military action was over, the UK prime minister said the country faced "a very bad situation". | |
| "A number of British citizens have been taken hostage. Already we know of one who has died," Mr Cameron said. | "A number of British citizens have been taken hostage. Already we know of one who has died," Mr Cameron said. |
| "The Algerian armed forces have now attacked this compound. It is a very dangerous, a very uncertain, a very fluid situation and I think we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of bad news ahead." | "The Algerian armed forces have now attacked this compound. It is a very dangerous, a very uncertain, a very fluid situation and I think we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of bad news ahead." |
| Later, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: "Although details have yet to become final, I am afraid we should be under no illusion that there will be some bad and distressing news to follow from this terrorist attack." | Later, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: "Although details have yet to become final, I am afraid we should be under no illusion that there will be some bad and distressing news to follow from this terrorist attack." |
| 'Anxious' | |
| BBC political editor Nick Robinson said ministers were still awaiting information from the Algerian government on the number of British dead, injured and missing. | |
| He said: "You saw in [Mr Cameron's] face, you heard in his voice, you could tell from the words just how anxious they are in Whitehall about further casualties. | He said: "You saw in [Mr Cameron's] face, you heard in his voice, you could tell from the words just how anxious they are in Whitehall about further casualties. |
| "I am being told that they are prepared for what are being called multiple casualties. Early on in this siege there was talk, all of it unconfirmed, of as many as 35 dead from all nationalities. | "I am being told that they are prepared for what are being called multiple casualties. Early on in this siege there was talk, all of it unconfirmed, of as many as 35 dead from all nationalities. |
| "Now, when I put that to people in Whitehall... they said 'we simply don't know the answer to this, but it may not be as wrong as you originally thought'." | "Now, when I put that to people in Whitehall... they said 'we simply don't know the answer to this, but it may not be as wrong as you originally thought'." |
| Our editor added that some British hostages were known to be safe, but he had been told up to 20 were still to be identified. | |
| "Some may still be missing, some... could still be hiding, others could be injured and not be properly identified, but sadly, too, there may be others who are dead." | "Some may still be missing, some... could still be hiding, others could be injured and not be properly identified, but sadly, too, there may be others who are dead." |
| Mr Cameron had been due to make a long-awaited speech on the UK's future relationship with Europe in the Netherlands on Friday, but made the decision to postpone his speech shortly before 1800 GMT after a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra and a phone call with the Algerian prime minister. | Mr Cameron had been due to make a long-awaited speech on the UK's future relationship with Europe in the Netherlands on Friday, but made the decision to postpone his speech shortly before 1800 GMT after a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra and a phone call with the Algerian prime minister. |
| No 10 said Mr Cameron had not been informed of the operation in advance and learned of it only when he had phoned his Algerian counterpart at 11:00 GMT on Thursday. | |
| Foreign Secretary William Hague is cutting short a visit to Australia due to the crisis, while ministers are planning to make a statement to Parliament on Friday morning to update MPs. | Foreign Secretary William Hague is cutting short a visit to Australia due to the crisis, while ministers are planning to make a statement to Parliament on Friday morning to update MPs. |
| Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the reports of the "grave and tragic events" were "deeply concerning". | Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the reports of the "grave and tragic events" were "deeply concerning". |
| Belfast man freed | Belfast man freed |
| Algerian soldiers had been surrounding the facility near In Amenas that hostage-takers occupied on Wednesday. | Algerian soldiers had been surrounding the facility near In Amenas that hostage-takers occupied on Wednesday. |
| The Algerian communications minister, Mohamed Said Belaid, said the military operation had been "successful in neutralising a large number of terrorists and freeing a large number of hostages". | |
| "But unfortunately, and we are sorry to say, there were some deaths and injuries. We do not yet have a definitive figure." | "But unfortunately, and we are sorry to say, there were some deaths and injuries. We do not yet have a definitive figure." |
| Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) until late last year. | |
| The militants had said they were holding 41 foreign nationals, believed to include British, Japanese, US and Norwegian citizens, in retaliation for French military intervention in neighbouring Mali. | |
| They reportedly said that at least 34 hostages and 14 kidnappers died during the operation, and that seven foreign hostages had survived. | |
| In a statement, the gas facility's part operator, BP, said its focus was "100% on the safety and welfare" of the workers and their families. | In a statement, the gas facility's part operator, BP, said its focus was "100% on the safety and welfare" of the workers and their families. |
| "We are now beginning a staged and planned reduction in non-essential workforce," it said. | "We are now beginning a staged and planned reduction in non-essential workforce," it said. |
| Earlier, the family of a Northern Irish hostage said he had been freed and was safe. | Earlier, the family of a Northern Irish hostage said he had been freed and was safe. |
| Stephen McFaul, 36, from Belfast, had been travelling on an Irish passport. His 13-year-old son, Dylan, said he could not wait to give his father "a big hug". | Stephen McFaul, 36, from Belfast, had been travelling on an Irish passport. His 13-year-old son, Dylan, said he could not wait to give his father "a big hug". |
| Reports of a second hostage from Northern Ireland proved incorrect. | |
| The BBC understands at least one Scot who was being held is also safe. | |
| Mark Grant, from Grangemouth, is believed to be with the Algerian army. It is unknown if he was freed, rescued by Algerian forces, or managed to escape. | |
| Five American hostages had survived and had left the country, US officials were quoted as telling ABC News. | |