KEYC - Mankato News, Weather, Sports - - Fate of American Hostages in Algeria Still Uncertain

Fate of American Hostages in Algeria Still Uncertain

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  • Friday, May 24 2013 11:50 PM EDT2013-05-25 03:50:56 GMT
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Algeria -

U.S. officials are still trying to get a handle on what's happening on the ground in Algeria. Some of the hostages are celebrating their freedom, but the fate of others is still not known. Hostage-takers who are linked to al-Qaeda claim to be holding more Americans and say they want to negotiate. 

These former hostages say they're glad to have made it out of the Algerian gas plant where they worked alive.  Planes have landed near the dessert plant to evacuate U-S survivors and other foreign nationals to hospitals in Europe. But there are hostages still inside, anywhere from 18 to 60 people, from the U-S, Japan, Norway and Britain.

An al-qaeda linked terrorist group called the Masked Brigade says it stormed the compound Wednesday in retaliation for French air strikes in neighboring Mali. There are reports the group wants to negotiate a swap: 2 Americans for 2 terror suspects in U.S. custody.

U-S officials are working to determine the fate of the U.S. citizens involved. They estimate there are about 7 or 8 of them. The Obama Administration says it's in contact with Algerian authorities but it's been difficult to get accurate information.