Initial reports in from The Leader from Behind

[deltex1]

Six hostages, 8 kidnappers killed in Algeria siege; 7 still held | Reuters

 

[deltex1]

Obama, Clinton Silent on Hostage Crisis
9:51 AM, JAN 17, 2013 • BY DANIEL HALPER Single PagePrintLarger TextSmaller TextAlerts
At least two American hostages are being held hostage at a gas plant in Algeria, but there's been no word on unfolding the situation from either President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In fact, the only official word to come from the Obama administration is confirmation from the State Department that indeed Americans are being held hostage there.

"[W]e condemn in strongest terms the terrorist attack on British Petroleum personnel and facilities at In Amenas, Algeria earlier today. We are obviously closely monitoring the situation. We’re in contact with Algerian authorities and our diplomatic counterparts in Algiers, as well as with BP’s security office in London," said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland in response to a reporter's question yesterday.

"The best information that we have at this time is that U.S. citizens are among the hostages. I hope you will understand that in order to protect their safety, I’m not going to get into numbers, I’m not going to get into names, I’m not going to get into any further details as we continue to work on this issue with the Algerian authorities and also with their employers."

Nuland did say that Clinton is aware of the situation and taking action. "Let me also say that the Secretary has spoken to our Ambassador in Algiers, Ambassador Ensher today. And as I was coming down here, she was on the phone with Algerian Prime Minister Sellal," said Nuland.

Yet the White House has been silent. And President Obama has not indicated he has plans to address the public on exactly what is happening. Same for Clinton, who has yet to make a public statement on the situation.

 

[deltex1]

Benghazi redux.

 

[TNHarley]

Another fuck-up?

 

[Katzndogz]

Well, these terrorists got away with Benghazi, they know obama is on their side in this too.

 

[waltky]

Aka the One-eyed Man...

'Mr Marlboro': The veteran jihadist behind the attack in Algeria
January 17th, 2013 - The terrorist attack on a natural gas installation at In Amenas in eastern Algeria may be an isolated act of revenge for the French intervention in Mali - or an ominous portent of things to come in North Africa, where Islamist militancy is gaining traction fast.

The man claiming responsibility for the operation is a veteran jihadist who is also renowned for hostage-taking and smuggling anything from cigarettes to refugees. His name is Moktar Belmoktar, an Algerian who lost an eye while fighting in Afghanistan in his teens and has long been a target of French counter-terrorism forces. Today, he leads a group called Al-Mulathameen Brigade (The Brigade of the Masked Ones), which is associated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM.) In the last few years, he has cultivated allies and established cells far and wide across the region.

Assault on In Amenas

The gas complex where Belmoktar's followers struck at dawn Wednesday is in a region that has seen plenty of jihadist activity in recent years, in part because of the collapse of government authority across the Libyan border, just 50 kilometers (31 miles) from In Amenas. Counter-terrorism experts differ as to how the attackers – in several pickup trucks – may have reached In Amenas, but there are several roads and tracks across uninhabited desert from Libya. On the other side of the border, a patchwork of militia prevails rather than any government presence. A spokesman for Al-Mulathameen told Mauritanian news websites that the attack was in retaliation for Algeria permitting French overflights as part of the intervention in Mali. But regional analysts believe it was too sophisticated to have been planned in days.

Robert Fowler, a former Canadian diplomat who was abducted by Belmoktar's followers in Niger in 2008 - and met the man himself - told CNN, "I suspect they have an intelligence wing and they are constantly looking for ways to grab westerners and embarrass the West and confuse our options. And that's exactly what they are doing." In a 28-minute video that appeared on jihadist forums last month, Belmoktar warned that Al-Mulathameen would soon act against Western interests in the region. "This is a promise from us that we will fight you in the midst of your countries and we will attack your interests," he said. Announcing the formation of an elite commando unit called "Those Who Sign With Blood," Belmoktar said it would be the shield against the "invading enemy." Wednesday's attack in Algeria was claimed in the name of that unit, which Belmoktar said would include "the best of our youth and mujahideen, foreign and local supporters."

Counter-terrorism analysts tell CNN the language suggests this group was dispatched to carry out an act of jihad rather than abduct foreigners for ransom. "This feels much more like attacks staged in the past by other al Qaeda affiliates, rather than another attempt to exchange hostages for ransom, as has often been AQIM's practice," said Andrew Lebovich, a long-time observer of AQIM currently in Senegal. "Belmokhtar likely wants to show he is still engaged in active operations and he is not moving away from the fighting – especially at a time when other Jihadists are in active combat against French troops in Mali," he said.

But it is also possible that Belmoktar may try to bargain for the release of al Qaeda operatives held in Algerian jails. In his December message, he said, "To our captive people...it is our promise and our debt as long as we live that we will liberate you, and we sacrifice our lives for you and everything we own to free you." Three al Qaeda operatives were detained last July by Algerian security services, but it's not known whether they were close to Belmoktar.

Marlboro Man

See also:

Clinton orders review of American interests in Algeria and region
January 17th, 2013 - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked her staff to review security for American diplomats, businesses and citizens in the entire Maghreb and North Africa region, in response to the hostage-taking in Algeria, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday.

"That goes not only for official American security but also the message is being given to American citizens and American businesses," Nuland told reporters at the State Department. After last year's deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, President Barack Obama ordered a review of security at all U.S. diplomatic facilities. In addition, an independent review board recommended to Clinton security improvements that she has ordered to be implemented. This new review goes beyond diplomatic facilities.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Nuland said, is known for kidnapping and hostage-taking and. "The concern is that groups operating in the region may be trying to do larger scale operations and we want to make sure that any of our citizens and companies operating in the region are reviewing their security practices in light of this." Nuland said the State Department has warned U.S. citizens and businesses previously about such threats but, in light of the Algerian attack, the department is looking "at the posture of official American facilities to ensure that our warnings to American citizens are updated and that our advice to American business is updated. So all of our embassies and consulates in that entire neighborhood are undergoing that exercise again today." The State Department's Overseas Security Council is in touch with U.S. businesses across the region, and has also posted messages on OSAC.gov that are being distributed to registered users, Nuland added.

The day of the attack, Wednesday, Secretary Clinton spoke with the Algerian prime minister. Nuland said the call was "about our willingness to be helpful, about what might be needed, about the desire to keep lines of communication open." She said she expected there will be more contact at that level some time Thursday. "We obviously have open channels of communications in our counter-terrorist channels and diplomatic channels," she added. The State Department, through its consular officials in Washington and personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Algeria are in touch with the families of the Americans who have been taken hostage. Officials say there may be as many as seven of them, although they have not given specific numbers.

Source

 

[Luddly Neddite]

rw scum. British Petroleum screws up and you blame the president?

WTF is WRONG with you assholes?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

rw scum. British Petroleum screws up and you blame the president?

WTF is WRONG with you assholes?

British Petroleum does not exist anymore.