Several British workers are at the centre of a terrorist hostage crisis at a BP gas plant in Algeria after al-Qaeda fighters attacked the complex in apparent retaliation for the French intervention in Mali. At least one British worker was said to have been killed in the early morning assault at the Saharan facility. Several others were taken captive along with dozens of Norwegian, American, Japanese and French workers. The Islamists claimed to be holding 41 foreigners hostage, with reports suggesting that another 150 Algerian workers had been prevented from leaving the plant, which is about 60 miles from the Libyan border. The fighters were believed to belong to the Katibah Moulathamine, or the Masked Brigade, run by Mokhtar Belmokthar, a one-eyed Algerian terrorist leader, linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. A spokesman for the group warned the hostages would meet a “tragic end” if any attempt was made to free them.
