'Come out, they're not going to kill you. Then they blew him away': Terrifying details emerge of moment British hostage was shot dead at gas plant
- Ten British hostages remain missing at the Sahara compound
- Militants say they are holding seven foreign hostages: one Briton; three Belgians; two Americans; and one Japanese
- Algerian military holding the vast residential barracks at the gas plant
- Foreign Secretary: Algerian crisis will remain ministers' 'top priority'
By JILL REILLY
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A freed hostage described how Islamist militants shot dead a Briton after forcing him to tell colleagues to come out of hiding.
As Algerian security forces face day four of a standoff with an international band of Islamist extremists still holding hostages at a remote gas plant, terrifying details of the ordeal have been to emerge.
The man, only giving him name as Chabane, worked in the food service at the In Amenas plant and said he bolted out of a window and was hiding when heard the militants speaking among themselves with Libyan, Egyptian and Tunisian accents.
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Lucky ones: Four British workers, including the man on the right, called Darren Matthew, who have escaped the Algerian refinery taken over by Al Qaeda have spoken for the first time about their ordeal
At one point, he said, they caught a Briton.
'They threatened him until he called out in English to his friends, telling them, 'Come out, come out. They're not going to kill you. They're looking for the Americans'.
A few minutes later, they blew him away,' he said.
Many of the foreign workers hid throughout the drama – three Britons climbed into the ceiling of a canteen – to evade the terrorists as they searched for more captives.
Last night seven military helicopters were said to be searching in the desert with floodlights while making appeals to terrified gas workers they believe are still in hiding.
Revelation: As Algerian security forces face day four of a standoff with an international band of Islamist extremists still holding foreign hostages at a remote gas plant, terrifying details of the ordeal have been to emerge
On alert: Algerian special police unit officers guard the entrance of an hospital located near the gas plant where the hostages have been kidnapped
The militants say they are holding seven foreign hostages: one Briton; three Belgians; two Americans; and one Japanese.
Ten British hostages remain missing after the disastrous rescue attempt ended with the deaths of 30 hostages, including at least two Britons.
This morning Foreign Secretary William Hague says the Algerian crisis will remain ministers' 'top priority' until every British national is accounted for.
Mr Hague tweeted the comment before chairing another meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee.
He added: 'My thoughts are also with the families of everyone affected, particularly those still waiting for news of their loved ones.'
Scene: The plant is located in In Amenas, around 60 miles from the Libyan border and 800 miles from the capital in Algeria's vast desert south
As Algerian diplomatic sources today said that 'everything is being done to avoid further catastrophe'.
He added: 'The rebels are equipped with high explosives including semtex, and are surrounded by liquid gas fields. The situation is intensely dangerous.'
Today the Algerian military was holding the vast residential barracks at the In Amenas gas processing plant, while gunmen were holed up in the industrial plant itself with an undisclosed number of hostages, making it difficult for Algerian special forces to intervene.
The army is surrounding the plant, and helicopters are monitoring the area, Algerian state radio said, quoting a reporter in the city of In Amenas.
Statoil, the Norwegian firm which co-owns the In Amenas plant with BP and Algeria's state-owned oil company, said two more of its employees had been taken to safety overnight.
However, it said the situation for six others remained 'uncertain'.
A statement released by the company read: 'This means that a total of 11 of the 17 Statoil employees who were located at the In Amenas plant have been brought to safety.'
It added: 'We have now transported a total of 51 people out of Algeria. The last two people are either in transit or about to start their journey home.'
A Scottish man held hostage in Algeria has spoken of his relief at being rescued.
Iain Strachan, 38, from Howwood in Renfrewshire, was among 100 foreign workers freed from terrorists who attacked a BP oil plant at In Amenas on Thursday.
Speaking on Algerian television, Mr Strachan said he was 'very relieved to be out.'
Blocked off: Roadblocks prevent the access of the Tigentourine gas plant where the hostages are being held
'Obviously we still don't really know what's happening back on site," he said.
'So, as much as we're glad to be out, our thoughts are with colleagues who are still there at the moment."
He said the Algerian army's assistance has been 'fantastic.'
Another hostage, Mark Grant, 29, from Grangemouth, reportedly texted his wife to let her know he was safe.
The message read: 'I'm safe. Got me out this afternoon. With the Algerian army.'
Prime Minister David Cameron has put SAS soldiers on standby.
However, their ability to intervene in a notoriously regulated North African country is by no means guaranteed.
'In normal circumstance, the Algerian government would be averse to foreign troops operating on its home soil,' said the diplomatic source.
Mastermind: Militant militia leader Moktar Belmoktar will have a bounty of $1million on his head
'The notion that they would simply be allowed in to start rescuing the hostages is by no means clear cut, especially as Algerian special forces are at the scene.'
It was Algerian army helicopter gunships which launched a rescue attempt on Thursday.
Three of the captives hid from the terrorists for two days before they were rescued, while another sprinted away from his ambushed jeep convoy with Semtex strapped to his neck.
One of the first Britons to be freed, Darren Matthews, 29, an electrical engineer from Teesside, said:
'My heart goes out to the guys that are still there and hopefully everyone comes home safe because, at the end of the day, it's only work.'
Anger: Prime Minister David Cameron has spoke of his disappointment at the way the Algeria crisis has been dealt with so far as he prepares to send the SAS in
Two British workers are already confirmed killed in the deepening crisis, and Mr Cameron has already told the Algerians of the 'paramount importance of securing the safety of the hostages'.
Mr Cameron added: 'Hostage negotiating experts are on standby with other technical expertise that we can provide. We have expertise and pride ourselves on the brilliance of our special forces.'
Algerian sources have also pointed to British negotiators already arriving in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, which around 1000 miles from the In Amenas, which is in the south east, next to the border with Libya.
The terrorists are thought to have travelled across the border from Libya, and Mr Cameron told the House of Commons on Friday that those behind the 'brutal and savage' attack included the so-called Masked Brigade.
It is linked to Al Qaeda and made up of terrorists from a number of countries, including the Algerian, Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Released captives have already spoken of one Islamist having a 'perfect English accent' - raising the possibility that some of the terrorists may have links with the UK.
Numerous expatriates including Britons work at the multi-million pounds facility, raising fears that somebody with inside knowledge may have helped organise the raid.
With no positive word on up to seven Americans inside the compound, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said in Washington on Friday that her officials were continuing to work to free those being held captive.
Coming home: British oil giant BP's employees wait for their flight back to London at Palma de Mallorca airport
Strained: The men look tired after their ordeal at the Amenas plant seized by fundamentalists claiming it was retaliation for Algeria's support for French air strikes in Mali
'
The United States extends our condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones in this brutal assault,' said Mrs Clinton.
'We remain deeply concerned about those who remain in danger,' said Mrs Clinton, adding: 'We are staying in close touch with our Algerian partners and working with effective nations around the world to end this crisis.'
The attackers are now penned in to the gas production area of the plant with their remaining hostages.
Relief: Mark Grant and his wife Emma. Mark was one of the men taken hostage at a BP compound in the Sahara Desert, but today he made contact with home
Safe and well: Belfast hostage Stephen McFaul, pictured with his sons Dylan (left) and and Jake, escaped the al-Qaeda siege on an
Algerian gas plant after being freed by the militants
They are carrying grenades and Semtex, according to a spokesman for the terrorists, who said they would blow up the plant if the army tried to move in.
An Algerian Interior Ministry spokesman said that 'a peaceful solution to this crisis is a priority.'
The first Briton to be killed in the crisis worked for a private security and safety firm, Stirling Group, which is based in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
The worker was not named but his family was informed.
He was killed when 32 terrorists from the al-Qaeda-linked Masked Brigade attacked buses ferrying workers to and from the local airport on Wednesday.
Lucky: Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Youcef Yousfi (centre) visits an injured hostage at a clinic - 10 UK hostages are still thought to be held captive
Rescued: One of the rescued workers speaks with Yousfi. David Cameron will be hoping to be in a similar position with the UK captives in the future
Some 17 terrorists are thought to have been killed so far.
The terrorists originally said they wanted France to pull its troops out of neighbouring Mali, where a ground war is being fought against Al Qaeda.
Now the Masked Brigade have announced that are were willing to trade American hostages for two terrorists held in the US. , but a State Department spokesman said: 'The United States does not negotiate with terrorists."
On Friday, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations said that he would be proposing a statement from the UN Security Council condemning the attack.
'That could happen in the next few hours, it could happen over the weekend," Sir Mark Lyall Grant said in a press conference in New York. "Obviously it depends on the fluid situation on the ground'.
Video: Algerian State TV speak with men who were held hostage
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