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Hostages had been taken captive at this natural gas complex in Algeria - but 20 of the hostages later escaped, an official said.
ALGIERS, Algeria — At least 20 foreign hostages escaped Thursday from Islamist militants who had taken over an Algerian natural gas complex in the Sahara desert, an Algerian security official reported.
Americans and Europeans were among those who escaped, he said, without elaborating. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
At least 20 gunmen attacked the vast complex early Wednesday in retaliation for France's military intervention against al Qaeda-linked rebels in neighboring Mali.
The militants, who claimed to have 41 hostages, have been in a tense standoff since then, surrounded by the Algerian military, which has helicopters flying over the plant.
Some 30 Algerian workers fled the complex earlier in the day, suggesting that the militants are having trouble managing the many hostages they have taken at the vast natural gas complex, the third largest in oil-rich Algeria.
Algerian authorities, meanwhile, were talking with tribal Algerian Tuareg leaders in hopes of mediating the dispute that involves dozens of hostages
The group claiming responsibility — called Katibat Moulathamine or the Masked Brigade — originally said it had captured 41 foreigners, including seven Americans, in the surprise attack on the Ain Amenas gas plant, 800 miles south of the capital of Algiers.
Two people, one a Briton and the other Algerian, were killed in the initial assault, which the US defense secretary has called "a terrorist attack." The kidnapping is one of the largest ever attempted by a militant group in North Africa.
The hostage-takers are reportedly seeking a safe passage out of the isolated area, something Algerian authorities have already rejected.
Another Algerian official, also not authorized to speak publicly about the attack, said authorities are in contact with tribal elders among Algerian Tuaregs, who are ethnically related to the rebels fighting the Mali government, some of whom have close al-Qaida links.
The France-based head of a catering company at the plant told French media before the latest escape that some 40 foreigners appeared to be held hostage in a separate area from the Algerian workers.
Regis Arnoux of the Mareseille-based CIS Catering company said while electricity to the plant has been cut, it had at least three weeks of food supplies.
Militants phoned a Mauritanian news outlet to say one of its affiliates had carried out the operation and that France should end its intervention in Mali to ensure the safety of the hostages.
