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As Rescue Goes On in Algeria, One American Is Dead As Rescue Goes On in Algeria, One American Is Dead
(about 1 hour 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 still being held and that one had been killed. BAMAKO, Mali — Defying the Algerian Army’s demands to give up, the band of Islamist militant kidnappers who terrorized a remote Saharan gas field complex still held at least 10 and possibly dozens of foreign hostages on Friday, and a senior Algerian government official said there were no talks planned to end the standoff.
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. “They are being told to surrender, that’s it,” said the official on the third day of the crisis. “No negotiations. That is a doctrine with us.”
The United States said for the first time that Americans were among the remaining captives and confirmed the first known death of an American hostage, Frederick Buttaccio, of Katy, Tex. Linked In, the social networking site for professionals, lists a Frederick Buttaccio as a sales operations coordinator for BP, the British energy giant that helped run the complex, but an official of BP said the company would not comment on any employee who may have been at the facility.
France said a French citizen also was known to have been killed.
All foreign governments with citizens at risk were still scrambling for basic information about the missing as they ferried escaped hostages out of the country on military aircraft and urged Algeria to use restraint.
“This is an extremely difficult and dangerous situation,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters in Washington. 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.”
Algeria’s state news agency, APS, said 12 Algerian and foreign workers had been killed since Algerian special forces began an assault against the kidnappers on Thursday. 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 in one of the worst mass abductions of foreign workers in years.
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.
An American, identified by the State Department as Frederick Buttaccio, was among those killed. “We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” said the department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment.” The Algerian news agency also said that 18 militants had been killed and that the country’s special forces were dealing with remnants of a “terrorist group” that was still holding hostages in the refinery area of the gas field in remote eastern Algeria.
 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. 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.
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. The senior Algerian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he believed there were about 10 hostages, under the control of possibly 13 to 15 militants, but he emphasized that “nothing is certain” about the numbers, which have varied wildly since the crisis began. He also said there were other workers on the site “who are still in hiding” but that the Algerian military had secured the residential part of the gas-field complex.
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. “What remains are a few terrorists, holding a few hostages, who have taken refuge in the gas factory,” he said. “It’s a site that’s very tricky to handle.”
“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 first update on what was known about United States citizens since officials confirmed on Thursday that seven or eight of them 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. Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Elisabeth Bumiller, John F. Burns and Julia Werdigier from London; Alan Cowell, Steven Erlanger and Scott Sayare from Paris; Michael R. Gordon, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker from Washington; Martin Fackler and Hiroko Tabuchi from Tokyo; and Clifford Krauss from Houston.
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.
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.