Algérie Presse Service (APS) - Jan. 18, 2013
Close to one hundred foreign citizens out 132 taken hostage by the terrorist group which attacked the gas plant at Tiguentourine, In Amenas - Illizi, have been freed, a security source told APS today.

The head count, not yet considered definitive, indicates that 573 Algerian citizens taken hostage were freed by PNA Special Forces units who launched yesterday's operation to free the hostages and neutralize the terrorists.

The operation seeking to dislodge the terrorist group holed up in the gas plant continues, the source said.

The same source had indicated that PNA Special Forces units are still attempting to reach a "peaceful resolution", neutralize the terrorist group holed up in the gas plant and free a group of hostages that are still being held.