Reports say several hostages were killed when the Algerian army stormed a remote gas plant in the south east of the country on Thursday (17 January).
The operation came after militants seized the facility - which housed workers from EU states as well as Japan, Norway and the US - following French air strikes on Islamic extremists in neighbouring Mali.
The Mauritanian news agency, ANI, said 34 hostages and 14 militants died, while other reports gave lower numbers.
EU foreig...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.