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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday militants who attacked the United States and its citizens will hunted down, in the first comments by a senior U.S. official on a hostage attack by Islamist militants in Algeria. … “Terrorists should be on notice that they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria, not in North Africa, not anywhere. Those who would wantonly attack our country and our people will have no place to hide,” he said. …

President Obama pushed back against criticism earlier this week that he is too insular and not social enough in Washington. He said simply, “I like a good party.” Today, he reinforced the message. Leaving a farewell reception at the Treasury Department for Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama was asked “So, you like a good party?” “They didn’t serve any alcohol,” Obama responded with a big grin, as he appeared to munch on something.

An American from Texas remains missing after an Algerian military raid on an Al Qaeda-linked group reportedly ended a hostage standoff at a remote gas plant in the Saharan Desert. Two Americans escaped unharmed Thursday from the hostage standoff, a senior U.S. defense officials told Fox News, and five other Americans who had been at the vast Ain Amenas complex were able to avoid being taken captive when the terrorists first attacked early Wednesday. The Associated Press reports at least six people, and perhaps many more, were killed -- Britons, Filipinos and Algerians -- in the Algerians special forces' rescue...

(Reuters) - Thirty hostages and at least 11 Islamist militants were killed on Thursday when Algerian forces stormed a desert gas plant in a bid to free many dozens of Western and local captives, an Algerian security source said. Two Japanese, two Britons and a French national were among at least seven foreigners killed, the source told Reuters. Eight of the dead hostages were Algerian. The nationalities of the rest, as well as of perhaps dozens more who escaped, were unclear. Americans, Norwegians, Romanians and an Austrian have also been mentioned by their governments as having been captured. Underlining the...

Two Americans escaped unharmed Thursday from a hostage standoff with an Al Qaeda-linked group as Algeria's state news agency reports special forces have completed a rescue operation to free the remaining foreign hostages, but casualties have been reported. Algerian state television said that four captives, two Britons and two Filipinos have died. But the militants said at least 35 hostages had died in the state's rescue attempt. There was no way to independently verify the toll in the remote location, 800 miles from Algiers. The two Americans who managed to escape the Ain Amenas gas plant where they were being...

BAMAKO, Mali — Kidnappers and at least some of their hostages were killed on Thursday as Algerian forces raided a gas facility where a heavily armed group of Islamist extremists was holding dozens of captives, including Americans and other foreigners, the Algerian government announced. In a statement on national radio, the communications minister, Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, said that many of the hostages had been freed, but he warned that the military assault was not yet complete and that some captives remained trapped inside the remote facility in the Algerian desert. “The operation resulted in the neutralization of a large number...

Latest news at the top of the article.....From the Begginnin.....i.e.....the bottom.***********************************EXCERPT********************************************1353: The hostages were seized on Wednesday morning after heavily armed militants attacked a bus leaving the plant but were repelled by their police escort.    1350: Welcome to our live coverage of the Algerian hostage siege. We will bring you updates as the situation develops with expert analysis from BBC correspondents and comment from readers.

Foreign nationals from eight countries were taken hostage at the Amenas plant. The Associated Press rounds up what we know about the hostages so far: -snip- • United States: Seven Americans were hostages, the militants said, but they claimed only two survived the Algerian strafing on Thursday. The US has confirmed that some of its citizens are hostages but gave no numbers.

'Thirty-five hostages killed in Algerian helicopter attack on BP gas plant siege': Two Brits feared dead, but some captives including Americans and Irish have escaped Helicopters 'began strafing' complex, also killing 15 militants, claim rebelsMilitants had earlier threatened to blow up the hostages if they intervened Al-Qaeda group also demand safe passage out of facility with the hostagesTwo British nationals and Algerian are believed to have been killed in siegeBritain will allow Algeria to 'take the lead', but will consider request for helpPM Cameron: 'Extent of attack suggests considerable degree of planning'Attack was planned by 'one-eyed Islamist known as...

The Obama administration is condemning an Islamist attack on a natural gas field in southern Algeria and confirming that Americans are among those being held hostage. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters in Italy that Americans were among the hostages and called the incident a "terrorist attack."

BREAKING: 34 HOSTAGES AND 15 KIDNAPPERS KILLED BY AIR STRIKES BY ALGERIAN ARMY - ANI NEWS AGENCY SNIP (Previous) UPDATE - Twenty-five hostages escape Algeria siege - source ALGIERS - Twenty-five foreign hostages, including two Japanese, escaped from the siege of a gas plant deep in the Algerian desert on Thursday, an Algerian security source said.

At least two American hostages are being held hostage at a gas plant in Algeria, but there's been no word on unfolding the situation from either President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In fact, the only official word to come from the Obama administration is confirmation from the State Department that indeed Americans are being held hostage there. "[W]e condemn in strongest terms the terrorist attack on British Petroleum personnel and facilities at In Amenas, Algeria earlier today. We are obviously closely monitoring the situation. We’re in contact with Algerian authorities and our diplomatic counterparts in Algiers,...

Newswires reported lunchtime Thursday (UK time) that a spokesman claimed 34 hostages and 14 kidnappers have been killed in air strikes against the Amenas gas facility in southern Algeria. Islamist militants attacked the facility early Wednesday morning, taking dozens of hostages. Statoil and BP, who operate a joint venture at Amenas, confirmed Wednesday and Thursday that they have several workers at the facility. According to the AFP a spokesman for the kidnappers, speaking through a Mauritanian newswire, Algerian military aircraft attacked the facility in what appears to have been an attempt to free the hostages. The spokesman warned that the...

Algiers, Algeria (CNN) -- Islamist militants who seized Westerners at an Algerian gas plant are demanding safe passage to nearby Libya, authorities said, as fallout from the French offensive in Mali reverberates globally.

NOUAKCHOTT — Thirty-four hostages and 15 of their al-Qaida-linked kidnappers were killed Thursday in an air strike by the Algerian armed forces, Mauritania's ANI news agency reported, citing one of the kidnappers holding captives at a desert gas field. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the information from the agency, which has close contact with the group that has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping, reportedly in retaliation for France's military intervention in neighboring Mali. ANI reported that the spokesman for the kidnappers said they would kill the rest of their captives if the army approached. A local...

At least two American hostages are being held hostage at a gas plant in Algeria, but there's been no word on unfolding the situation from either President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

(Reuters) - Islamist fighters seized dozens of Western and Algerian hostages in a dawn raid on a natural gas facility deep in the Sahara on Wednesday and demanded France halt a new offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali. Three people, among them one British and one French, were reported killed, but details were sketchy and numbers of those held at Tigantourine ranged from 41 foreigners - including perhaps seven Americans as well as Japanese and Europeans - to over 100 local staff, held separately and less closely watched.   What is clear is that with a dramatic counterpunch to this...