Algeria has gone guns blazing into the oil field raided by Al-Qaeda militants yesterday.
Earlier several hostages and some of their captors were killed by an Algerian army helicopter strike.
A British security source told CBS News"that the Algerians were firing from helicopters at anything that moved."
A UK Government official tells BBC that a "proactive Algerian military operation to free the hostages is under way" after Algeria reportedly turned down UK assistance in the operation.
Algeria's official news agency reports that Algerian army has freed two British hostages from Scotland, a Kenyan and a French hostage.
A local source told Reuters six hostages and eight kidnappers were killed by the helicopter strike while Mauritania's ANI news agency and Qatar-based Al Jazeerareported that 34 of the captives and 15 of the captors had been killed.
One of the kidnappers told Mauritania's ANI news agency that seven hostages — two Americans, three Belgians, one Japanese and one British citizen — remained at the facility after the strike. So, if the kidnappers' reports are to be believed, an Algerian airstrike killed 34 of the 41 foreigners kidnapped.
But there were reports that anywhere from four to 25 foreign hostages had escaped, while anywhere from 26 to 180 Algerian workers had escaped. Yesterday a French catering company reported that 150 of its Algerian employees had been captured.
More to come as information becomes available.
SEE ALSO: Hostages Killed in Algeria, Dozens More Escape
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