US officials are saying very little about the Algerian military operation to free those taken hostage after militants attacked a gas facility Wednesday morning. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News
Many of the Western hostages held by Islamist militants at a gas plant in Algeria were likely inadvertently killed by the country's military, according to an account by relatives of an Irishman who survived.
Hostage Stephen McFaul?s brother Brian told Reuters that the Westerners ? thought to include three Americans -- were being moved in five vehicles with explosives hanging round their necks when the army attacked and destroyed four of the trucks.
McFaul family via Reuters
Belfast native Stephen McFaul (right) is pictured with his sons Dylan (left) and Jake in this family handout photo taken four years ago and made available Thursday.
McFaul?s vehicle crashed and he was able to make ?a break for his freedom,? his brother told the wire service.
A day after the attempted rescue operation at the In Amenas gas facility, the situation was still unclear.
A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned early Friday that ?there still could be hostages.?
And a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office also said Friday that ?as far as we are aware the terrorist situation is ongoing,? as Algerian officials had not said that it was over.
A local source told Reuters that 30 hostages, including Westerners, and 11 of their captors were killed by the Algerian military action Thursday.?The source added that the gas base was still surrounded by Algerian special forces and some hostages remained inside. These claims could not be verified by NBC News.
Among those unaccounted for were Americans, Britons, French, Norwegians, Romanians, Malaysians, Japanese and Algerians.
The US offered to provide Algerians with special operations forces, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism teams but the Algerians wanted to handle the hostage situation themselves. Obama administration officials say the Algerians did not inform the US in advance of the attack. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
An unknown number of hostages left the country on a charter flight and were expected to land at London's Gatwick airport. Reuters also cited a local source as saying a U.S. plane had landed at In Amenas airport to evacuate Americans from the area.
An Obama administration official, speaking on background, said the U.S. was not aware of the Algerian raid in advance.
Before the operation, the U.S. had urged the Algerians to be cautious and encouraged them to make the safety of the hostages their top priority.
But the account given to Reuters by Brian McFaul cast doubt on the Algerians' methods:
"[The militants] were moving five Jeep-loads of hostages from one part of the compound. At that stage they were intercepted by the Algerian army. The army bombed four out of five of the trucks and four of them were destroyed," he said.
"The truck my brother was in crashed and at that stage Stephen was able to make a break for his freedom," he added. "He presumed everyone else in the other trucks was killed."
Brian McFaul said he did not speak to his brother directly, but got an account from Stephen's wife Angela after she spoke to him. The hostages had their mouths taped and explosives hung from around their necks, McFaul added.
However, in messages posted on Twitter Friday, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said that ?primary responsibility for tragic events in #Algeria rests with terrorists who murdered some & held others hostage.?
?We are working to ensure that those who survived ordeal in #Algeria are properly cared for & reunited with their loved ones,? he said, in a message posted on the British Foreign Office?s Twitter account.
?We shall maintain our resolve to see al-Qaida denied a foothold on Europe's southern border,? he added. ?This terrible incident has highlighted again the threat in North Africa & Sahel from international terrorism.?
Related:
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