0 Lone Indonesian Freed in Algeria

An Indonesian national has been released unharmed after he and 40 other foreigners were held hostage by Islamist militants in Algeria, an official said. The Foreign Ministry, which made the announcement on Friday, only identified the national by the initials A.A., and did not give any details on when or how the citizen was freed. “The Indonesian Embassy in Algiers has informed us that A.A. left for London last night [Thursday] before continuing to the homeland,” P.L.E. Priatna, the director of information and media at the Foreign Ministry, said in the statement. 

Islamist militants attacked and occupied a natural gas complex partly operated by oil giant BP in southern Algeria on Wednesday, taking 41 foreigners hostage. Two people, including a Briton, were killed during the attack while seven others were injured. The Foreign Ministry statement said that along with the 41 foreigners about 200 Algerian workers were also held. It added that 105 individuals, including A.A., have since been released. The statement also said that the Algerian government had taken action against the hostage takers. 

Commando troops composed of military police and other special forces encircled the complex, the statement said, quoting officials from the Indonesian Embassy in Algiers. The militant group that claimed to be composed of Al Qaeda fighters attacked the In Amenas gas mining and refinery complex managed jointly by Algeria’s Sonatrach, BP and Norway’s Statoil, in apparent retaliation for France’s military operation against Al Qaeda-linked rebel groups in Mali. 

Algeria has allowed France to use its airspace to launch the military operation last week, aimed against the Islamic terrorists who have capitalized on Mali’s political instability by setting up a base of operations there. The gas plant, the country’s third largest, lies in eastern Algeria, about 60 kilometers from the Libyan border.

source : the jakarta globe