Two hostages freed by the army at a gas plant in In Amenas of southern Algeria told Xinhua Saturday the nightmare they endured since the militants attacked their compound.

M.B., a 35-year-old Algerian security guard who was on night shift Wednesday, said that the armed group assaulted the gas field facility of Tiguentourine at around 5 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), one hour before being replaced by his college.

"Armed men boarding 4x4 vehicles have surprised us by pulling us while we were at our workplace. My colleague and I ran together quickly to take refuge under a bus parked nearby. Suddenly, I felt something hurt my foot, and I realized that i was shot," the freed hostage said, adding that gunshots resounded everywhere.

"Me and my colleague remained under the bus until around 10:30 a.m. (1130 GMT) of Friday, as we realized that the site was calm."

The two survivors decided to "trust God" and get out of their hiding place on a tricycle driven by the unhurt man. The wounded security guard sat behind while displaying a "white flag."

"When we reached the lodge, we found two terrorists inside who asked us if we know how to operate the station (which was off), we told them that it is beyond us," said M.B..

He further stated that "one of the militants had an Egyptian accent, while the other one had a Gulf-like accent, probably a Yemeni, according to my colleague."

The kidnappers "finally let us go" and later on "We were picked up by gendarme officers," he said, adding "A doctor cleaned my wound and then sent me to hospital."

As whether he saw any dead bodies or injured hostages, the survivor said: "Well, I've seen bodies were lied on my way inside the facility, but you understand that I could not count them."

"Anyway, it's a relief that this nightmare ended and I'd like to pay tribute to the memory of those who died, one of my colleagues among them."

Meanwhile, Abdelkader, another Algerian survived hostage told Xinhua that "We endured a nightmare, we were sleeping when we heard shotguns and armed men assaulted the compound. We tried to hide, but they stormed the place and gathered more than 400 workers in one place.

Abdelkader, who declined to give his full name for security reasons, said that the number of "terrorists" was around 20. "They treated well, as they assured that they will not kill us, as they are here to kidnap Westerners in order to blackmail Western countries regarding the ongoing war in Mali."

"The terrorists infiltrated among us to protect themselves from the Algerian army raid, but the army dealt intelligently with the situation, as it pretended to attack the site by a helicopter fighter, which caused panic among the armed men and the hostages who run in all directions, and we seized this opportunity to escape thanks to the move the army," Aabdelkader said. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)