ALGIERS, Algeria — An Algerian military raid to free hostages from at least 10 countries and wipe out their Islamist militant captors unleashed bloody chaos at a remote Sahara natural gas complex, and the British government said Friday the operation was not yet over.
The fate of the fighters and many of the captives remained uncertain amid dueling claims from the Algerian military and the Islamists. Leaders around the world whose citizens were kidnapped by the militants expressed strong concerns about how Algeria was handing the situation.
Algeria's government said the raid was over late Thursday night. But both Britain's Foreign Office and U.S. officials said Friday the desert conflict with the terrorists was "ongoing."
Manuel Valls, France's interior minister, said the situation remained murky.
At least six people, and perhaps many more, were killed — among them Britons, Filipinos and Algerians. Terrorized hostages from Ireland and Norway trickled out of the Ain Amenas plant, 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of Algiers, the capital.
Dozens more energy workers remained unaccounted for — Americans, Britons, French, Norwegians, Romanians, Malaysians, Japanese, Algerians — as well as the fighters themselves.
"This remains a fluid and evolving situation and many details are still unclear, but the responsibility for the tragic events of the last two days squarely rests with terrorists who chose to attack innocent workers, murdering some and holding others hostage," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News.
Algeria's army-dominated government, hardened by decades of fighting Islamist militants, shrugged aside foreign offers of help and drove ahead alone, keeping a tight control of information even to Western leaders.
On Friday, Algeria's ambassador to Japan was summoned and told that Japan demanded that Algeria prioritize hostages' lives and cooperate more closely.
Prime Minister David Cameron spoke twice to his Algerian counterpart on Thursday and was "prepared for bad news," Britain's Foreign Office said.
A U.S. official said while some Americans escaped, other Americans were either still held or unaccounted for. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was briefed early Friday, according to a senior defense official, who offered no other details because "we view it as a sensitive, ongoing situation." The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The U.S. government sent an unmanned surveillance drone to the BP-operated site, near the border with Libya, but it could do little more than watch Thursday's military intervention.
Deadly Algeria hostage crisis not over, British officials warn
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Deadly Algeria hostage crisis not over, British officials warn
