15 foreigners flee kidnappers in Algeria
2013-01-17 14:00
Algiers - Fifteen foreigners and 30 Algerians being held hostage
by Islamist extremists at a gas field in Algeria managed to escape from their
kidnappers on Thursday, local media reported, citing officials.
"Fifteen foreigners, including a French couple, have
escaped from their captors," the private Ennahar television station
reported, with TV station's owner, Anis Rahmani, telling AFP that the
information came from an "official source".
The French embassy could not confirm the information.
Earlier, the APS news agency said 30 Algerian workers had
managed to escape from the In Amenas gas field in south-eastern Algeria, where
the Islamist gunmen, who say they are holding 41 foreigners hostage, are locked
in a tense standoff with the Algerian army.
