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| As Rescue Operation Continues in Algeria, Fate of Hostages Remains Unclear | As Rescue Operation Continues in Algeria, Fate of Hostages Remains Unclear |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BAMAKO, Mali — Dozens of foreign hostages may still be held by Islamist extremists who have defied demands to surrender in a besieged Algerian gas-field complex, Algeria’s state-run news agency reported Friday, and the United States said for the first time that American citizens were among them. | BAMAKO, Mali — Dozens of foreign hostages may still be held by Islamist extremists who have defied demands to surrender in a besieged Algerian gas-field complex, Algeria’s state-run news agency reported Friday, and the United States said for the first time that American citizens were among them. |
| Twelve Algerian and foreign workers have been killed since Algerian special forces began an assault against the kidnappers, the state news agency reported, citing an unnamed security official. It was the highest civilian death toll Algerian officials have provided in the aftermath of the assault, which freed captives and killed kidnappers but also left some hostages dead. | Twelve Algerian and foreign workers have been killed since Algerian special forces began an assault against the kidnappers, the state news agency reported, citing an unnamed security official. It was the highest civilian death toll Algerian officials have provided in the aftermath of the assault, which freed captives and killed kidnappers but also left some hostages dead. |
| Previous unofficial estimates of the foreign casualties have ranged from 4 to 35. | Previous unofficial estimates of the foreign casualties have ranged from 4 to 35. |
| The Associated Press, quoting unidentified American officials, said one American at the facility who worked for the BP energy company had died. Representatives of BP and the State Department declined to comment. | |
| The Algerian news agency said that the country’s special forces were seeking to reach a “peaceful solution” with the remnants of a “terrorist group” that was still holding hostages in the refinery area of the gas field in remote eastern Algeria. It also gave a new sense of how many people may have been at the facility when the militants seized it on Wednesday, asserting that nearly 650 had managed to leave the site since then, including 573 Algerians and nearly half of the 132 foreigners it said had been abducted. | The Algerian news agency said that the country’s special forces were seeking to reach a “peaceful solution” with the remnants of a “terrorist group” that was still holding hostages in the refinery area of the gas field in remote eastern Algeria. It also gave a new sense of how many people may have been at the facility when the militants seized it on Wednesday, asserting that nearly 650 had managed to leave the site since then, including 573 Algerians and nearly half of the 132 foreigners it said had been abducted. |
| But that still left many people unaccounted for, adding to the global concern about the fate of the hostages, who come from as many as 10 different nations, in one of the biggest mass-abductions of foreign workers in years. | But that still left many people unaccounted for, adding to the global concern about the fate of the hostages, who come from as many as 10 different nations, in one of the biggest mass-abductions of foreign workers in years. |
| Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressing the crisis in Washington following a meeting with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, suggested Algeria’s operation to end it was far from over. | Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressing the crisis in Washington following a meeting with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, suggested Algeria’s operation to end it was far from over. |
| “This is an extremely difficult and dangerous situation,” she told reporters. Describing a telephone conversation she had earlier Friday with Algeria’s prime minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, Mrs. Clinton said she had emphasized to him that “the utmost care must be taken to preserve innocent life.” | “This is an extremely difficult and dangerous situation,” she told reporters. Describing a telephone conversation she had earlier Friday with Algeria’s prime minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, Mrs. Clinton said she had emphasized to him that “the utmost care must be taken to preserve innocent life.” |
| Earlier Friday the State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said that not all Americans had been freed. “We have American hostages,” Ms. Nuland told reporters, offering the government’s first update on what is known about the Americans since officials confirmed on Thursday that seven or eight Americans had been inside the gas-field complex. | Earlier Friday the State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said that not all Americans had been freed. “We have American hostages,” Ms. Nuland told reporters, offering the government’s first update on what is known about the Americans since officials confirmed on Thursday that seven or eight Americans had been inside the gas-field complex. |
| Ms. Nuland also said the United States would not consider a reported offer made by the kidnappers to exchange two Americans for two prominent figures imprisoned in the United States — Omar Abdel Rahman, a sheik convicted of plotting to bomb New York landmarks, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman convicted of shooting two American soldiers in Afghanistan. It was impossible to confirm that offer, which was reported by the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, a service that tracks jihadist activity on the Internet. | Ms. Nuland also said the United States would not consider a reported offer made by the kidnappers to exchange two Americans for two prominent figures imprisoned in the United States — Omar Abdel Rahman, a sheik convicted of plotting to bomb New York landmarks, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman convicted of shooting two American soldiers in Afghanistan. It was impossible to confirm that offer, which was reported by the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, a service that tracks jihadist activity on the Internet. |
| Intensifying the uncertainties, a spokesman for the militants, who belong to a group called Al Mulathameen, said Friday that they planned further attacks in Algeria, according to a report by the Mauritanian news agency ANI, which maintains frequent contact with militant groups in the region. The spokesman called upon Algerians to “keep away from the installations of foreign companies, because we will suddenly attack where no one would expect it,” ANI reported. | Intensifying the uncertainties, a spokesman for the militants, who belong to a group called Al Mulathameen, said Friday that they planned further attacks in Algeria, according to a report by the Mauritanian news agency ANI, which maintains frequent contact with militant groups in the region. The spokesman called upon Algerians to “keep away from the installations of foreign companies, because we will suddenly attack where no one would expect it,” ANI reported. |
| A Pentagon official said an Air Force C-130 had left Algeria for an unidentified base in Europe, carrying a number of the rescued hostages but no Americans. The official said a second, larger evacuation plane, a C-17, was still on the ground in Algeria, and it was unclear how many rescued hostages would be boarded or when it would depart. | A Pentagon official said an Air Force C-130 had left Algeria for an unidentified base in Europe, carrying a number of the rescued hostages but no Americans. The official said a second, larger evacuation plane, a C-17, was still on the ground in Algeria, and it was unclear how many rescued hostages would be boarded or when it would depart. |
| A separate hostage situation of sorts appeared to have been averted at a village in Mali, the neighboring country where a French military intervention to stop radical Islamists may have been the catalyst for the Algerian gas-field seizure by the Al Mulathameen group. But details were sketchy. | A separate hostage situation of sorts appeared to have been averted at a village in Mali, the neighboring country where a French military intervention to stop radical Islamists may have been the catalyst for the Algerian gas-field seizure by the Al Mulathameen group. But details were sketchy. |
| A senior French official in Paris said Malian Islamist fighters, threatened by French and Malian soldiers, had occupied the village, Diabaly, and were threatening to use residents as human shields if attacked. But by Friday evening, a local official in Diabaly said the Islamists and most of the villagers had fled. “There’s practically nothing left in Diabaly except burned-out vehicles and boxes of ammunition,” said the official, Benco Ba, a local parliamentary deputy. | A senior French official in Paris said Malian Islamist fighters, threatened by French and Malian soldiers, had occupied the village, Diabaly, and were threatening to use residents as human shields if attacked. But by Friday evening, a local official in Diabaly said the Islamists and most of the villagers had fled. “There’s practically nothing left in Diabaly except burned-out vehicles and boxes of ammunition,” said the official, Benco Ba, a local parliamentary deputy. |
| Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako and Alan Cowell and Scott Sayare from Paris. Reporting was contributed by Rick Gladstone from New York; Elisabeth Bumiller, Julia Werdigier and John F. Burns from London; Steven Erlanger from Paris, Eric Schmitt, Thom Shanker, David E. Sanger and Michael R. Gordon from Washington; Martin Fackler and Hiroko Tabuchi from Tokyo; Mayy El Sheikh from Cairo and Clifford Krauss from Houston. | Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako and Alan Cowell and Scott Sayare from Paris. Reporting was contributed by Rick Gladstone from New York; Elisabeth Bumiller, Julia Werdigier and John F. Burns from London; Steven Erlanger from Paris, Eric Schmitt, Thom Shanker, David E. Sanger and Michael R. Gordon from Washington; Martin Fackler and Hiroko Tabuchi from Tokyo; Mayy El Sheikh from Cairo and Clifford Krauss from Houston. |