Dozens of hostages including Algerians and foreigners are said to have fled jihadist group at Ain Amenas gas field
Fifty-five hostages – 30 Algerians and 25 foreigners – are reported to have escaped their captors at the Ain Amenas gas field in eastern Algeria, which was seized on Wednesday by a jihadist group.
The foreigners include two Japanese and some Americans, according to Algerian officials speaking to the Associated Press and Reuters, but there were no more details. It was also not clear how many hostages were still being held. The militant group who attacked the gas field on Wednesday morning at dawn claim to have taken a total of 41 foreign hostages, including nationals from the UK, Norway, the US, France, Japan, Ireland, Colombia, Romania, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Germany.
Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, said on Thursday morning there were a number of Scots among the British hostages.
Some of the Algerian workers were freed on Wednesday night before the apparent break-out of 30 workers, which was reported by the Algerian Press Service (APS) citing regional government sources.
The APS said the escaped Algerian hostages were picked up by Algerian army helicopters. A French catering company has said it had 150 Algerian employees at the site at the time of the attack.
In an interview with al-Jazeera, a spokesman for the militants calling himself Abu al-Baraa said: "We demand the Algerian army pull out from the area to allow negotiations," and demanded the release of jihadists being held in neighbouring Mali, saying: "Our detainees for theirs".
He claimed that Algerian soldiers, who have surrounded the gas field living quarters where the hostages are being held, were firing on the site and had injured a Japanese hostage.
Al-Jazeera also interviewed someone described as a British hostage, who said: "We are receiving care and good treatment from the kidnappers. The army did not withdraw and they are firing at the camp. There are around 150 Algerian hostages. We say to everybody that negotiations is a sign of strength and will spare many any loss of life."
Another interviewee, described as an Irish hostage, said: "The situation is deteriorating. We have contacted the embassies and we call on the Algerian army to withdraw … We are worried because of the continuation of the firing. Among the hostages are French, American, Japanese, British, Norwegian and Irish."
The French news channel France 24 spoke to a French national being held at the Ain Amenas gas field who said the kidnappers "attacked two sites at the same time – they went inside and gathered everyone".
The hostage, who did not want to be named, told the channel the attackers were well-armed and "forced some of the hostages to wear belts strapped with explosives".
The British and French governments have both said the Algerian government is taking the lead in dealing with the situation. The UK has also said it is working through BP, a partner in the gas field, in an effort to resolve the crisis.
"Our focus is on working through the Algerian government and the company," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
However, an official told Associated Press that the government in Algiers had been in talks with the US and France over whether international forces could help resolve the crisis.
AP also reported that the official also said the government was trying to enlist the help of tribal elders among Algerian Tuaregs, who are believed to have close ties with the Islamist militants at the gas field.
The group responsible for the attack calls itself "Signers in Blood" and the "Masked Brigade" and is loyal to a veteran Algerian jihadist called Mokhtar BelMokhtar, who broke away from al-Qaida in the Maghreb in December. The one-eyed militant leader has professed continuing loyalty to the remnants of the main al-Qaida group founded by Osama Bin Laden and based on the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.