Algerian troops launched an operation to free 41 hostages being held at a gas facility by an Islamist group called Battalion of Blood; 25 hostages are said to have escaped and six were killed along with eight militants. Other reports say that 34 of the captives and 15 militants have been killed in the rescue attempt. Some 600 Algerian workers fled the site. A report said some hostages are being forced to wear explosives. British and Spanish oil companies are evacuating workers from other Algerian facilities.
