Gas facility in Algerian Sahara attacked, Norwegian energy group says

By Staff The Associated Press

Posted March 18, 2016 5:06 am EST

1 min read

This article is more than 8 years old and some information may not be up to date.

This picture taken on January 31, 2013 shows workers outside a desert gas plant after it opened for the press the first time after dozens of foreigners were killed during a four-day standoff that ended in a bloody showdown with Algerian commandos in In Amenas. JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images

COPENHAGEN – Norwegian energy group Statoil says a gas facility in Algeria has been “hit by explosive munitions fired from a distance,” adding it has no immediate information about casualties.

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In a statement Friday, Statoil said the attack occurred at the In Salah Gas asset in Krechba, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of Algiers in the Sahara Desert.

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The Stavanger, Norway-based company said it, and the joint venture organization in Hassi Messaoud, have mobilized their emergency response organizations. Statoil it has been in touch with its three employees at Krechba, who are safe and not injured.

In January 2013, a band of al-Qaida-affiliated militants attacked the Ain Amenas complex in Algeria. After a four-day standoff, the Algerian army moved in. At least 37 hostages, mostly foreign workers, died in the battle.