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More Than 80 Dead in Algeria Siege

(Reuters) Lamine Chikhi - Algerian special forces have found the bodies of two Canadian Islamist fighters after a bloody siege at a desert gas plant, a security source said on Monday, as the death toll reached at least 80 after troops stormed the complex to end the hostage crisis. Veteran Islamist fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of al-Qaeda. On Sunday Algerian troops found the bodies of 25 more hostages, raising the number of hostages killed to 48 and the total number of deaths to at least 80. Six militants were captured alive. Hostage deaths among foreigners included 9 Japanese and 6 Filipinos. Nearly 700 Algerian workers and more than 100 foreigners escaped. Belmokhtar tied the desert attack to France's intervention against Islamist rebels in Mali. However, U.S. and European officials doubt such a complex raid could have been organized that quickly.
2013-01-21 00:00:00
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