Al Qaeda-linked militants holding hostages at a gas field have offered to swap two American captives for two terrorists being held in US jails, including “Blind Sheikh” Omar Abdel Rahman. Some 60 foreigners among the supposed 132 hostages are unaccounted for and feared dead. The Algerian military raid to free the hostages continued for a second day, and 18 militants are said to have been killed. The kidnappers, from the Battalion of Blood and the Movement of the Islamic Youth in the South, warned of more attacks and told locals to stay away from foreign energy companies’ facilities.
