AQIM Splinter Seizes BP Gas Facility in Algeria — 38 Foreign Workers Killed

In direct retaliation for France's Mali intervention, an AQIM-linked group led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar seizes the Tigantourine gas facility near In Aménas, Algeria, taking hundreds of workers hostage. Algerian special forces storm the facility January 17–19; 38 foreign workers from 10 countries and 29 militants are killed. The crisis demonstrates the regional spillover of the Mali conflict into Algeria.