TerrorismAlgeria: use of overwhelming force against hostage-takers was necessary
As the grim toll of the 4-day operation to wrest control of the Algerian gas drilling site becomes clearer, debate continues about the tactics the Algerian military pursued, which some in Western capitals consider rushed and heavy-handed. Algeria says it had no choice: the initial plan of the terrorists was to grab two-dozen foreign workers, take them to the nearby airport of Amena, hijack a plane, and fly them to Mali, then ask Western government for a hefty ransom. When that plan failed, the terrorists began preparations to blow up the entire complex, killing themselves and the 790 workers kept as prisoners on the site. Algeria says that if it did not act quickly, and with overwhelming force, the death toll would have been far higher.
The Algerian military was criticized in Western countries for its heavy use of force in the 4-day battle to subdue the terrorists who took over a gas drilling site on the Algerian-Libyan border, holding hundreds of employees as hostages.
The military used helicopter gunships to strafe the living quarters at the site while both hostages and hostage-takers were inside. The Algerians also destroyed four jeeps carrying both hostages and terrorists.
The number of dead is still unclear, as search units keep finding scorched bodies on the site.
Le Figaro reports that the latest numbers released by the Algerian government are:
- Thirty-two terrorists from seven different countries took part in the attack
- The terrorists came from Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Tunisia, and Canada
- Twenty-nine terrorists were killed, and three were captured alive
- Thirty-seven hostages from nine different countries were killed
- Three Americans are among the dead; seven American hostages escaped unharmed
- Five hostages are still unaccounted for
- In all, 790 workers were on the site, including 134 foreigners of 26 nationalities, when it was first seized
Algeria was unapologetic about its use of force.
Abdelmalek Sellal, Algeria’s prime minister, said that Algeria had information that the Islamic militants who took over the site intended to kill all their captives and that the army saved many from death by attacking.
In his press conference on Monday, Sellal said that “The whole world has understood that the reaction was courageous.” He called the abductions an attack “on the stability of Algeria.”
“Algerians are not people who sell themselves out,” he said. “When the security of the country is at stake, there is no possible discussion.”
American sources, though, said that the United States offered Algeria advanced surveillance assistance which could have reduced the number of casualties, both before and during the 4-day operation.
The New York Times reports that some of the assistance was accepted by the Algerians, but the U.S. military sources say that looking at the Algerians’ plans and performance, it appears that minimizing the number of hostages being killed was a desired, but not governing, goal of the operation.
The Times quotes American counterterrorism experts who said that detailed surveillance could have provided the Algerian military with information advantage to outmaneuver the militants. The Times notes that not all experts agree with this assessment .
