Good thing Obama has assured us that al-Qaeda is on the ropes. Imagine what they’d be doing if they were strong. “Al Qaeda-linked group reportedly holding 7 Americans among 41 hostages after taking control of Algerian gas field,” from FoxNews.com, January 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):
An Al Qaeda-linked group from Mali have attacked and taken control of a natural gas field partly owned by BP in southern Algeria, killing two and reportedly taking 41 people hostage, including seven Americans.
A group called the Katibat Moulathamine, or the Masked Brigade, called a Mauritanian news outlet to say one of its subsidiaries had carried out the operation on the Ain Amenas gas field, taking 41 hostages from nine or 10 different nationalities.
The U.S. embassy in Algiers said in a statement it wasn’t “aware of any U.S. citizen casualties,” but sources tell Fox News at least three Americans may be among the hostages.
The group’s claim could not be independently substantiated and typically there would be fewer than 20 foreign staff members on site on a typical day, along with hundreds of Algerian employees.
The group said the attack was in revenge for Algeria’s support of France’s operation against Al Qaeda-linked Malian rebels groups far to the southeast.
The caller to the Nouakchott Information Agency, which often carries announcements from extremist groups, did not give any further details, except to say that the kidnapping was carried out by “Those Who Signed in Blood,” a group created to attack the countries participating in the ongoing offensive in Mali….