Algeria: Ex-driver at complex among hostage-takers
Algeria: Former driver at gas complex among attackers; 38 hostages killed in standoff
In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. Algerian de-mining teams were scouring a gas refinery on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 that was the scene of a bloody four-day standoff, searching for explosive traps left by the Islamist militants who took dozens of foreigners hostage. The siege left at least 23 captives dead, and the American government warned that there were credible threats of more kidnapping attempts on Westerners. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Algeria's prime minister says a former driver at a natural gas complex was among the band of al-Qaida-linked militants who stormed the site and took hundreds of workers hostage.
Abdelmalek Sellal says the former driver was from Niger.
He says the terror cell also included two Canadians, but did not say whether the Canadians were among the 29 militants killed by Algerian forces who raided the vast complex, or the three who were captured alive.
At least 38 hostages died in the attack — all but one of them foreigners. Algerian authorities say five more remain unaccounted for.
The prime minister says the hostage-takers knew the layout of the site by heart.
