BREAKING NEWS

SITE: Algeria hostage-takers threaten more attacks

DUBAI] - The Mulathameen Brigade that claimed the mass hostage-taking in Algeria threatened to carry out more attacks unless Western powers ended what it called an assault on Muslims in neighboring Mali, according to the SITE monitoring service.
In a statement on Monday, the al-Qaida linked group, whose name means "The Masked Ones," said the hostage-takers had offered negotiations on freeing the captives seized at a gas plant in Algeria but the Algerian authorities used military force, SITE reported.
The statement was published by the Mauritania-based Nouakchott News Agency, according to SITE, which tracks statements by militants.
The Brigade said it would attempt further such attacks if there was no halt to Western military involvement in northern Mali, which militant groups call Azawad and where French forces are fighting to end control by Islamist groups.