[h=3]By DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS And CASSELL BRYAN-LOW[/h]PARIS—The Algerian army has secured control of the natural-gas field where hostages were held by Islamist militants for four days after a final assault on the complex, an Algerian industry official said Saturday.
The official said some hostages had been killed during the assault but that he did not yet have a precise account.
The official said Algerian soldiers were still combing the site to search for explosives allegedly planted in the facility by militants.
The U.K. foreign office said that a large majority of British nationals involved in the hostage crisis were safe. It said that fewer than 10 British people are now at risk or unaccounted for. That is down significantly from Thursday night, when there were fewer thank 30 British people at risk.
Still, in a sign of the seriousness of the situation, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague in a media interview said British people need to prepare themselves for bad news. The U.K. government declined to comment on reports indicating the big push by Algerian forces Saturday.
The U.K. foreign office added that the British ambassador to Algeria has arrived near the gas site location. It added that U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is due to speak to his Algerian counterpart later Saturday.
The events underscore the scale of the terrorist threat in the region, Mr. Hague added.
The storming of the gas facility ended a siege that began early Wednesday when militants suspected to have ties to al Qaeda's regional affiliate stormed a gas installation in southeast Algeria near the Libyan border, in an area called In Amenas.
They took dozens of foreign hostages, including from the U.S. and Japan, and governments have already confirmed the deaths of four of them. Others were freed after a previous assault attempt by Algerian forces.
There were conflicting news reports Saturday about the fate of the remaining hostages at the gas plant operated by BP PLC, Statoil and the Algerian state energy company.
Write to David Gauthier-Villars at [email protected]
The official said some hostages had been killed during the assault but that he did not yet have a precise account.
The official said Algerian soldiers were still combing the site to search for explosives allegedly planted in the facility by militants.
The U.K. foreign office said that a large majority of British nationals involved in the hostage crisis were safe. It said that fewer than 10 British people are now at risk or unaccounted for. That is down significantly from Thursday night, when there were fewer thank 30 British people at risk.
Still, in a sign of the seriousness of the situation, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague in a media interview said British people need to prepare themselves for bad news. The U.K. government declined to comment on reports indicating the big push by Algerian forces Saturday.
The U.K. foreign office added that the British ambassador to Algeria has arrived near the gas site location. It added that U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is due to speak to his Algerian counterpart later Saturday.
The events underscore the scale of the terrorist threat in the region, Mr. Hague added.
The storming of the gas facility ended a siege that began early Wednesday when militants suspected to have ties to al Qaeda's regional affiliate stormed a gas installation in southeast Algeria near the Libyan border, in an area called In Amenas.
They took dozens of foreign hostages, including from the U.S. and Japan, and governments have already confirmed the deaths of four of them. Others were freed after a previous assault attempt by Algerian forces.
There were conflicting news reports Saturday about the fate of the remaining hostages at the gas plant operated by BP PLC, Statoil and the Algerian state energy company.
Write to David Gauthier-Villars at [email protected]