British hostage held by al-Qaeda in Algeria was shot by troops in failed rescue bid
By Robert Mendick, Adrian Gatton and Mark Olden
The Sunday Telegraph
14 September 2014
An inquest into the In Amenas siege at a gas plant in Algeria will raise serious doubts over the safety of staff at the facility, part run by BP.
At least one British hostage was killed by the Algerian military as it fought with al-Qaeda terrorists who had taken control of a gas plant in the Sahara desert, an inquest will hear this week.
The inquest into the massacre at the In Amenas facility, which begins on Monday, will raise serious questions over Algeria’s handling of the hostage crisis. Seven British residents were killed during a four-day siege along with more than 30 other foreign hostages.
The men were taken hostage when jihadists, led by the al-Qaeda linked terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar stormed the facility in January 2013. The incident was deeply embarrassing to the Algerian government because the plant was in a militariesd zone that should have been protected by the army.
The inquest will also raise serious questions about security inside the camp which was run in a joint venture by BP, the Norwegian state oil company Statoil and the Algerian government owned Sonatrach.
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Adrian Gatton 