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Algeria siege: 37 foreigners died, PM says Algeria siege: 37 foreigners died, PM says
(35 minutes later)
Algeria's Prime Minister has said 37 foreigners from eight nationalities were killed during the siege at a gas plant in the east of the country. Algeria's Prime Minister has said 37 foreigners from eight nationalities and one Algerian worker were killed during the hostage crisis at a gas plant.
In a statement, PM Abdelmalek Sellal said one Canadian was among the militants who seized the plant and took hostages near the town of In Amenas. PM Abdelmalek Sellal said 29 of the militants who overran the facility near the desert town of In Amenas had been killed and three captured alive.
He said 29 of the militants had been killed and three were captured alive. One Canadian was among the hostage takers, he added.
The four-day siege ended on Sunday. As many as 48 hostages, including Algerians, are thought to have died. The four-day siege ended on Sunday when Algerian troops recaptured the site. Five hostages remain unaccounted for.
A number of hostages remain unaccounted for. Japan on Monday said seven of its nationals had been killed and three others remained missing.
The dead or missing include workers from the UK, the US, Japan, Norway, Romania, Malaysia, the Philippines and Romania. US officials confirmed that three Americans were among the dead, with seven survivors.
Mr Sellal said the kidnappers had crossed into the country from northern Mali, and that they were from Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Canada and Mauritania. The foreigners killed or still missing also include workers from the UK, Norway, Romania, Malaysia, the Philippines and Romania.
The militants said they had taken hostages in retaliation for French intervention against Islamists in Mali. Mr Sellal praised the decision by Algerian special forces to storm the site, adding that the aim of the kidnappers was to "blow up the gas plant".
"The terrorists also shot some of the hostages in the head, killing them," he stressed.
The prime minister said the kidnappers had crossed into the country from northern Mali, and that they were from Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Canada and Mauritania.
The militants said they had taken hostages in retaliation for French intervention against Islamists in Mali earlier this month.
However Mr Sellal said the attack on the gas plant had been planned for more than two months.