Frantic hunt for ten UK hostages: SAS on standby to rescue Brits still held by Algeria gas plant jihadists

Ten British hostages were missing in the Sahara last night – either dead or in the hands of Al Qaeda.
Terrorists are still in control of parts of the BP plant where a disastrous rescue attempt ended with the deaths of 30 hostages, including at least two Britons.
The SAS is on standby to rescue survivors but the Algerian government has rejected five offers of help from David Cameron. Members of the special forces are already in Algeria to advise the local military and help catch Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the terror chief behind the attack.

Mastermind: Militant militia leader Moktar Belmoktar will have a bounty of $1million on his head

The Amenas gas field in Algeria is seen in this satellite image courtesy of Google Earth

An SAS unit has been sent to Cyprus in preparation.
It is feared Belmokhtar’s men are holding British and American hostages and captives from other countries. In a statement to the Commons, Mr Cameron expressed frustration at the Algerian handling of the crisis and failure to accept help.

 

‘I was disappointed not to have been informed of the assault in advance,’ he said. ‘I offered UK technical and intelligence support – including from experts in hostage negotiation and rescue – to help find a successful resolution.’
Of the SAS, Mr Cameron said: ‘They are on standby, hostage-negotiating experts and other sorts of technical expertise that we can provide.’
The Prime Minister said Britain would help lead a ‘robust security response’ to the crisis and ‘will do everything we can to hunt the people down who were responsible’.

Lucky: Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Youcef Yousfi (centre) visits an injured hostage at a clinic - 10 UK hostages are still thought to be held captive

Rescued: One of the rescued workers speaks with Yousfi. David Cameron will be hoping to be in a similar position with the UK captives in the future

He held talks with US defence secretary Leon Panetta in Downing Street yesterday to coordinate an intelligence effort to locate Belmokhtar who is dubbed the Marlboro Man because he raises funds for terrorist atrocities by smuggling cigarettes.
Mr Panetta said that the terror gang ‘will have no place to hide’.
A bounty on the Blood Battalion leader’s head – currently $100,000 – is expected to be put up to $1million – around £700,000.
Mr Cameron yesterday chaired two meetings of the Cobra crisis committee and spoke twice to his Algerian counterpart Abdelmalek Sellal, their fourth and fifth conversations since the terrorists struck on Wednesday.
The Foreign Office flew some victims of the crisis home yesterday and sent a crisis response team to Algiers. MI6 officers and Metropolitan Police hostage negotiators were travelling to the scene last night.
The Algerian government said that 98 out of 132 foreign hostages held were safe, leaving 34 unaccounted for. But some reports put the number missing as high as 60.

Anger: Prime Minister David Cameron has spoke of his disappointment at the way the Algeria crisis has been dealt with so far as he prepares to send the SAS in

Hunt is on: U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has pledged that Belmokhtar will 'have no place to hide'

Freed hostages revealed yesterday how Algerian forces had launched their attack on the heavily armed militants with a blitz from helicopters on five jeeps carrying foreign workers and their abductors.
Four of the jeeps suffered direct hits – one is said to have burst into flames and another was blown several feet into the air. There were few survivors and witnesses said bodies were ‘everywhere’.
But as a fierce gun battle broke out, the fifth jeep crashed allowing some of those held with explosives belts around them to make a break for freedom.
The Secret Intelligence Service and MI5 are also examining the possibility that one of the terrorists is British after reports that a man speaking impeccable English was among the hostage takers.
Many of the foreign workers hid throughout the drama – three Britons climbed into the ceiling of a canteen – to evade the terrorists as they searched for more captives.

Questions: The attack suggests either a lapse in stringent security at the base, or an emboldening of Islamist insurgents

Remote: The In Salah gas project is located in the Sahara desert in Algeria. Although the desert complex was heavily guarded, it is vulnerable to attack due its lone proximity

Last night seven military helicopters were said to be searching in the desert with floodlights while making appeals to terrified gas workers they believe are still in hiding.
Algeria claimed their special forces had captured one terrorist alive and he said the group were 32 strong and under the command of Belmokhtar.
It was claimed last night that a video from Belmokhtar would be released in which he would offer to free American hostages in exchange for Egyptian Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui. Both are in jail in the US on terrorism charges. Belmokhtar also apparently calls on the French and Algerians to negotiate an end to the war in northern Mali.
MI6, GCHQ and the CIA have all been tasked with finding Belmokhtar. GCHQ and the American NSA listening stations will use satellite and electronic surveillance and voice match software to locate him.
That would pave the way for a drone strike on his hideout.

Looking forward: Four British workers, including the man on the right, called Darren Matthew, who have escaped the Algerian refinery taken over by Al Qaeda have spoken for the first time about their ordeal